It’s engagement season friends! I remember when I first entered the wedding industry, I was so confused by what that term meant. Engagement season? I knew there was a wedding season, easily explained because of the change in weather, but what I did not understand was that there was a certain time of year where so many men got down on one knee!

Was there something in the air this time of year? Maybe the magic of the holidays and the luxury of being surrounded by family and friends? Who knows what it is that prompts men to put shiny things on their loved one’s ring finger this time of year, I love it!

If you saw my Instagram Live session last week, you saw me talk all about this proposal story. But if you didn’t, allow me to rewind. Casey popped into my inbox asking if I might be interested in shooting his proposal to his high school sweetheart, Rebecca. I’d be lying if I said my hands didn’t immediately start sweating. Weddings, fun. Engagements, such a joy. Proposals, well this was new territory for me! There’s a certain thrill to it’s newness that kicked my adrenaline into high gear.

Casey didn’t want a hidden photographer, but rather for me to be waiting on this dock that he would walk his future fiancé down onto. I was dubbed the “nature” photographer that day. We had agreed that I would wait on the dock shooting nature based photos and when Casey & Rebecca arrived, I would ask them (very awkwardly) if I might be able to take a “scenic photo” of them on the dock for my portfolio.

I stood on that dock shooting icey water and cat tails for what felt like an hour. Strangely, it was sort of relaxing. The area was quiet, the wind just barely moved the cat tails from left to right, and the air was cool. As great as that all just sounded, don’t worry, I’m going to stick to taking pictures of people! Anyways, I had started to relax on the dock after about 15 minutes of waiting for Casey & Rebecca to arrive. I had finally stopped rehearsing (outloud) the way I would ask them to take the picture and started hangin’ out.

Casey & Rebecca approached from behind and I literally jumped because I was so startled! An unrehearsed, unplanned, “Oh, hey, I didn’t see you there!” came flying out of my mouth. Really Whitley? Who says that? I had one job, one sentence that I needed to muster out. I would never make it as an actress. Back to the script. I somehow stammered through my question, so Casey could get to his, “This might be a weird question, but, um, could I take a photo of the two of you for my portfolio? Just a scenic shot of the back of you guys is okay!” They both gave me odd looks (which Casey & I reheased) “It’s okay to say no!” If it were up to Rebecca, I think she would’ve said absolutely not, but Casey, knowing the plan, hesitantly said, “Uh.. sure.”

They turned to face those icey blue waters that I had grown to love and the rest is history. The story of how it unfolded laid out in this blog post. It was such an honor to capture Rebecca’s best yes and I am so excited to be sharing the story with you during this engagement season!

I am blessed to have the opportunity to tell stories like this through photos and hold the trust of my clients in their biggest moments!

Hold your loved ones tight this Christmas weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!

Hugs!