Ashley and Brandon met me out this past week for a beautiful early morning engagement session in Historic Downtown St Augustine with their adorable pup Cooper, who I must say stole the show! My sweet couple met a few years back when Ashley’s high school bestie joined the Navy. After joining the Navy and moving to Washington D. C. her bestie met the man of her dreams, who just so happened to be best friends with Brandon.
Ashley’s friend kept telling Ashley that she had found her the most perfect match. Well finally giving in, Ashley added Brandon on Facebook and the two chatted a little through messenger and texts. Small text chats turned into long night phone conversations and Skype dates. After a month or so of chatting long distance, Ashley flew up to D. C. to see her friend, and of course Brandon, and they have been together ever since. Good matchmaking if I must say so myself!
During our session, you could truly feel the presence of love between my couple. The way Ashley looked at Brandon was truly in one word, beautiful. Ashley loves Brandon’s sense of humor through his ability to make her laugh no matter what mood she is in. He always knows how to brighten her day and can turn any negative situation into a positive. Brandon loves the way he can count on Ashley, no matter what, and that they are each other’s biggest supporter. You can truly feel and see how much they love each other.
After dating for a few years, Brandon planned out a sweet family trip for Thanksgiving to New York. It was the first time that he had been to New York, and the two decided that they wanted to do a few key New York bucket list items from seeing the Macy’s Day Parade to visiting Central Park. The day after Thanksgiving, the whole family headed out to Central Park to see the leaves changing color. Walking ahead of Ashley with his sister, Brandon led everyone to a view of the lake on top of a rock ledge. From leaves changing colors to the sparkling lake, it was a truly magical location.
Brandon didn’t want Ashley to know what was about to happen and had his sister pose for a few pictures with her boyfriend while on the rock ledge, before turning the camera over to his sister to take pictures of him and Ashley. As Ashley was fixing her hair and about to get into pose mode, Brandon grabbed her by the hand and got down on one knee. Ashley’s heart melted as, “he told her everything he loved about her and them together and asked her to marry him,” which of course she said “yes” to! I just love how Brandon planned out everything from having family come along to the beautiful location. Cooper is truly one lucky pup to have found his way into such a beautiful family.
Speaking of Cooper, this adorable little five month old Havashire puppy loves spending time with his mom and dad, playing with toys, and exploring the great outdoors by chasing squirrels and birds. From the moment my sweet couple arrived with their little pup for their session, Cooper jumped in as the star of the show. He was so cute whimpering for his mom and dad when we were taking a few shots without him, while Lexi, Ashley’s sister and Maid of Honor, held him. Some of my favorite shots from the session are their Save the Date sign photos with my sweet couple kissing in the back, while Cooper looks at me with a little puppy smile.
Looking forward to capturing these two tie the knot at Plantation Oaks Farms next year!
Venue: Downtown St. Augustine
