Holley and Bryan met me out at beautiful New Smyrna Beach for a morning, sunrise engagement session. Holley and I had been planning the session for months as it feel on their two year anniversary and was truly a special day to have their engagement photos taken.
These two sweethearts actually met while Holley was working on a shorebird internship in Sanibel, Florida. Bryan’s two best friends just so happened to be also doing the same internship that Holley was working on. Bryan would visit every few weeks and overtime the two became friends.
Their mutual interests ranging from an adorable sense of humor to love of animals and the beach created a solid foundation of friends that soon turned into a little romance. After being friends for a couple of years and Holley having moved back to St. Pete, Bryan asked her on a date to see if their friendship could be more. Since that day the two have been inseparable.
Holley loves how well Bryan balances her out and as she puts it, “I’m easily excitable and can get incredibly loud, and he is so laid-back and lets me be me. And as corny as it may sound, I really love the way he loves me.” Bryan loves how incredibly happy Holley is and how nothing can get her down for very long. Bryan also let me know that he loves her “love and passion for nature that allow us to share in our love for the outdoors, and that she accepts all parts of me that I would normally never reveal.” Truly this inseparable match was created from their beautiful friendship.
After a year of dating, Bryan knew it was time to propose to the girl of his dreams. Bryan surprised Holley with a day trip back to Sanibel, where he took Holley for a long walk along to see the lighthouse, mangroves, and shoreline. Hidden among the mangroves, a little opening allowed the two to sit down in the shade so they could admire the beauty before them. Out of nowhere (okay Bryan’s backpack), Bryan pulled out a photo album that he created for Holley, which he supposedly forgot to give her the night before when they celebrated their one year anniversary with a fancy dinner. Holley explained that “the photo album had pictures of all of our firsts: first photo together, first road trip, first date, first Christmas… then there was a photo of an engagement ring.” Under the image of the beautiful ring, a little caption read “The day we got engaged, Sanibel, FL, May 8, 2015.” Holley was in completed shock and I mean complete shock as Bryan dropped to one knee. It was almost like a blur of love feeling as though time has stopped. Bryan asked for her hand in marriage and while bawling her eyes out she said “yes!”
Looking forward to capturing these two tie the knot next year!
Venue: New Smyrna Dunes Park
