My Engagement Story

Let's Get Personal

So today I'm going to tell you guys MY engagement story. The first thing you have to know is that my husband and I started dating when we were 17! We did long-distance for a year while he started college in Philly and I finished high school in California. It was tough but so worth it! When it came time for me to pick a college God made it so that my most affordable school was 20 minutes away from his! So we both ended up in Philadelphia and ended up seeing each other on weekends and between classes whenever we could. Fast forward to 2018, we'd been together for almost 7 years, and by this time I am sure that it was just a matter of time before we get engaged. . Then I ended up teaching in a public school and had a traumatic experience that put me out of work for several months. This was one of the darkest times of my life and it felt like there was no extra space for me to do anything besides just try to heal from what I'd experienced. So I did the work, I went to therapy, I quit the job I loved but was killing me, and I started looking for what to do next.

At this point, I hadn't been doing my photography professionally, but a friend of mine asked me to do a little photoshoot with her and give her some pointers. I agreed, but when the time came to get all dolled up and in front of the camera I nearly backed out! I was having a rough day and was really tired, but I figured this was just one of those times I had to push through it. Well, I got to this gorgeous area in Fairmount Park with a little Japanese-style garden and some beautiful trees and a gazebo, and lo and behold we had SO MUCH FUN just goofing off and talking photography and boys and life in general. Little did I know, this had all been orchestrated by Liam!

As we're getting to the last of the golden hour light, we're taking photos in the gazebo, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Liam walking right up next to me! It looked like he'd just come from church or something because he was wearing a suit and tie, he cantors at our parish on weekends so it was feasible. I thought somehow he had just decided to crash the shoot since it was a mutual friend that he hadn't seen in a while taking the photos. Then as I go to ask him what he's doing here, he drops to one knee and pulls out a little white ring box. And to be completely REAL, I was shocked! I thought we were still a ways out from this point after the rough few months I'd been having, and all of a sudden my high school sweetheart is on bended knee asking me to marry him. I ACTUALLY said "Is this real!?" instead of yes! Of course the yes came immediately after, but I was just so floored! Then our sweet friend took impromptu engagement photos for us, which was just the best. The pictures are a little dark and I sometimes wish I'd had like "professional" ones done too, but gosh I wouldn't trade these pictures for anything in the whole world.

Below I'm attaching some of the highlights! Look at how shocked I am! I couldn't recreate that if I tried, and I am beyond grateful that our friend was willing to help us preserve that moment forever. Unfortunately, most of the photos aren't really bright enough to print out and hang, but I have them saved on my desktop for when I need a reminder of how far we've come since then.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's WORTH IT to have someone there to capture these moments. You will never regret having photos of your engagement, your proposal, or any kind of big life event. You just won't. So drop a hint to your partner that you want someone there to capture it. It will be beyond special, and a good photographer will not make it feel any less intimate, that I can promise you!