Joelle & Tristan || Holden Beach, North Carolina

So, I know that I usually do these kinds of posts for engaged/married couples, but my sister and her boyfriend are so cute I decided to say heck with it and do one for them too! Say hi everyone :)

(Also, these photos are from our beach vacation last year but someone **cough**Tristan**cough**Joelle**cough** couldn't "find the time" to answer the questions...)

How long have you two been together?:

Joelle: "Officially as a couple, we’ve been together for ten months, but we’ve been friends for over a year now. Tristan had asked me out first, but I declined because after getting out of a very bad and messy relationship I wasn’t quite ready to do it all over again. He agreed to stay friends, which I soon realized was a futile endeavor because a week later I was in love with him. The night we got together, May 16th, 2017, I had had a bad day at work and Tristan came to meet me at the park we always hung out in. We sat there for hours, hardly saying anything, completely comfortable with just each other’s presence, and it was then I knew I wanted to tell him how I felt. I told him I liked him very much, and he seemed happy about it. I must not have been clear because he then proceeded to tell me how he was beyond excited about our friendship. I didn’t know what to say after a while, then sat up and demanded, “Are you gonna ask me out, or not?”. I was not subtle. He professed his love and devotion to me, and we’ve been together ever since."

Tristan: "We have been together for 11 months and 6 days, And it has been amazing, Joelle is my best friend and there is nothing I do that I don't want her a part of. She is there for everything ever since we got together and I couldn't be happier about it."

When/where was your first date?:

Joelle: "Our first date was at a coffee shop downtown. I was so nervous and awkward that I ordered tea and put WAY too much milk in it, so it was just milk with leaves in it. Tristan noticed my anxiety, and told me to not think of it as a date, but just just any other time we hung out. It was so much easier that way. We were still close friends, but now I could kiss him anytime I wanted!"

Tristan: "Our first actual DATE was at Dublin coffee house, but we had hung out several times before either at the park or at work together. She was a bit nervous at first but that faded after a bit and we had a great time. It was so easy to go on dates and stuff because it felt more like two friends hanging out that happen to be dating haha."

What are some things you like to do together?:

Joelle: "We love to cuddle, go to the movies and take walks at Percival’s Island. The Office and Chinese food is our ideal night in. We also love to talk about Marvel vs. DC, but that can sometimes turn into an argument."

Tristan: "I think our favorite thing to do is fall asleep haha We love taking long naps or just lazily hanging in bed all day with a pizza or Chinese and a good couple movies. But we love to go out to dinner and play games and laugh together too. She's really funny and playful and it makes everything a lot more relaxing and fun. You can always find us in a park somewhere when it's raining though, we both love walking in the rain and could do it all day.."  

What was your first thought when you saw him/her?:

Joelle: "Daaaaammmnnnn, he’s hot."

Tristan: "I just thought her voice was beautiful.. her hair looked so great because it was all long and dark and she was wearing these knee high black and yellow striped socks with a dress and some converse. Her sense of style was really new and showed someone who was all herself instead of caring much what other people thought of.. I immediately thought she was strong and independent when I saw her and that really caught my attention. After that I couldn't stop thinking of her.. I knew she was special right then."

What are some things you each love about one another?:

Joelle: "Oh, boy. I love his red hair, and how blue his eyes are. I love how when something sort of funny happens, and everyone else is kinda chuckling, Tristan is crying he’s laughing so hard. For several minutes. I love the way we can gently bully each other all the time without getting insulted. Like, when I say he has a stupid pigeon face, he knows I mean I love him. I love how kind and patient he is, and how he always wants to help people the best he can. But most of all I love that he’s my best friend. It makes everything so easy and comfortable. Tristan is the easiest person in the world to be around. He’s smart, funny, incredibly caring and unashamedly kind. It was impossible not to be a part of his life about ten minutes after we started talking."

Tristan: "Joelle has a lot of little things that I love about her. She does things like randomly bite my shoulder or pull my beard in this dorky playful manner and I love it. She's so lively and excited and it keeps things fun and interesting all the time. She's is a phenomenal cook and makes crazy cool things for us to eat all the time. She's also a writer and I love bragging to anyone I can that my girlfriend has published her first book.. she's so talented and smart sometimes I can't even believe she's real..."

Brittany & Trevor || Evington Virginia Engagement

These two were so much fun to work with this past weekend! We did the session on their 20 acre farm out in Evington, VA that was home to Trevors Grandparents. The wind was BITTER but the light was awesome so that made up for it! Also, their pooch Layla did her part to warm our hearts ;)

Cant wait for their wedding next December!

How did you guys meet/start talking?

B- We actually knew of each other in middle school.. but after middle school my family moved to NH. After HS, a move back to VA and a few years we became friends on Facebook and began talking through that and decided to meet up in person and hang out!

T- She messaged me on Facebook and we started hanging out.

How long have you two been together?

B - 6 years

T - Forever

When/where was your first date?

B - Our first official date was floating the James river with his brother and dad. We had hung out before but not in a date fashion!

T - On the James river.

What are some things you like to do together?

B - We like to have fun outside - go fishing, four wheeling, floating the river. We also like to watch movies, play with our dog and be with family!

T- I don’t know, lots of stuff. We go fishing.

What are somethings you each love about the other person?

B- He is determined and goal oriented. He has an amazing smile and makes me laugh lots! Most importantly he understands me, supports me and pushes me to be the best I can be!

T- I love that she always worries about the things I don’t. We really balance each other out.

When did you know he/she was the one?

B- I knew pretty early on.. I don’t really know exactly when but way before he did! Lol.

T - I don’t know when. Just kind of happened.

When/how did you guys get engaged?

B- we got engaged on the day we moved into our house (his grandparents house). It was at the end of moving day after all our moving help left. He said I want to make this house official with you, I want to make this house a home with you and that he wouldn’t feel right without asking me.. Will you marry me?... of course I said YES!!!!

T- Our first night in our new house.

Morgan & Kameron || Central Virginia Engagement

How did you guys meet?: "We've known each other since middle school but we didn't look at each other in that way until a year after we graduated and he slid into my dms haha!"

When/where was your first date?: "Our first date was June 25, 2016 when I went to visit him on base in North Carolina."

What are some things you like to do together?: Morgan: "We're both kids at heart so we just like to have fun and goof off together." Kameron: "Watching horror movies together, just relaxing, cuddling and talking about everything, basically everything I want to do I want her there to do it with me."

Morgan, what are somethings you love about Kameron?: "I love Kameron's kind heart and how he can instantly make friends with anybody he meets. And I love how he brings out my goofy side and teaches me how to laugh at life."

Kameron, what are somethings you love about Morgan?: "She's kind, she's sweet, she cares more than anyone that I have ever met, she's confident , she's strong and never lets the world push her around, she's passionate and she would do anything for me the same way I would do anything for her. She's even cute when she's mad. She never gives up and puts her whole heart into a relationship and never holds anything back."

When did you know Kameron was the one?: "It didn't take me long at all to realize Kameron was the one. He had every quality I've ever looked for in a man. We had an instant connection and I knew I never wanted to lose that. God blessed me more than I could've ever imagined by giving me Kameron."

When did you know Morgan was the one?: "It was when she wasn't there that I knew she was the one. With her not being there, it felt like there was an emptiness and it was only when she was there that I didn't feel that way. I just couldn't live without her and I couldn't see myself with anybody else."

Who said "I love you" first?: Morgan: "I said I love you first. It was really romantic haha it was one night on topsail beach, the same place he proposed exactly a year later."

These two were SO. STINKING. CUTE! Between Kameron's constant wise cracks and Morgans contagious laugh (largely brought about by Kameron's wise cracks) there was never a dull moment during their engagement session! Plus, they both agreed to get in the creek for me. I was instantly in love with them after that <3

Kameron is in the Marine Corps and so it can be kind of hard to schedule things like engagement sessions, weddings, proposals... SO, while Kameron was away in Japan, he was in cahoots with his mom and Morgans mom to plan a wedding and get everything set BEFORE he came back home to propose... WHAT?!?!? When I was in conversation with Morgan's mom about photographing their wedding, I was slightly shocked when I heard that they weren't even engaged yet. Mom quickly assured me though that Kameron was all that Morgan could talk about and she knew without a doubt that this was the man she wanted to marry. So, in order to be able to have the wedding at a time that was conducive to his life in the Marines, they scheduled the wedding for December and he was due to propose when he came back to the states in August. He popped the question the very night he flew in and of course she said yes! 

I am so pumped to shoot their wedding in December!

Nate & Bailey

I have been way behind on blogging lately, so what better way to get back at it then with these two! I just love them! Everytime I do a session with them there are laughs all around. Nate and Bailey just celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. I was there to capture the moment they both said I do and it has been my pleasure to photograph three of their four anniversary's together as well, You can tell that these two adore each other. Look at how cute they are!

Location: Sweet Briar College