My two love birds, Emily and John, met me out at Mead Botanical Gardens for a beautiful outdoor engagement session that ended with sunset photography at Kraft Azalea Park. The three of us had been brainstorming on location ideas of either flowers or a lake, and ended up deciding to go with both, which worked out perfectly!
Emily and John actually met back when they were kids. The two were both from the same hometown of Melbourne, Florida, but being four years apart they inadvertently never crossed paths to get to know one another enough during their time in school. During the holidays, as luck may have it they ran into one another at a local bar in downtown Melbourne and hit it off. After a few dates, they realized the timing just wasn’t right and parted ways. As fate may have it, the two ran into one another just six months later and as Emily puts it, “sparks flew.” John couldn’t let her get away this time and asked her out again. The timing was right, the two clicked instantly, and four years later they are now planning out their wedding day!
I truly believe in fate and timing. I hear of so many stores from my couples that they find their perfect match when they stopped searching. It is incredible that fate put Emily and John in one another’s paths, determined for these two souls to realize they were meant for one another.
Emily loves the way that John is truly both her partner and best friend. As she describes their relationship, “although we are different in some ways, I think we really balance each other out and bring out the best in each other.” Not to mention he makes her laugh endlessly, which I could completely tell during their engagement. John loves how Emily is strong and empathetic, along with being incredibly gorgeous. He admires her deeply by writing that, “she taught me how to slow down, take in life and the joy that is in the moment, to live through each other’s strongest assets, and cultivate a relationship of interdependence, built on a foundation of love and respect.”
Four years later, John couldn’t imagine anyone else he would want to spend his life with. With plans to head home to Melbourne for the weekend to visit family, he knew it would be the perfect time to pop the question! Their first stop on their trip back home was to meet up with John’s parents in downtown Melbourne. As they walked to the restaurant where they were meeting up with them, John stopped Emily in the middle of one of the squares and remaindered her that it was where they met. He told her how much he loved her, dropped to one knee, and asked her to marry him. Of course Emily was in complete surprise and absolutely ecstatic!
After several hugs and kisses, the two continued on their walk to lunch. As Emily was attempting to collect herself from crying of pure excitement and joy, the two rounded the corner to see that both of their families were there along with all of their close friends. Of course at that point the tears began to flow! As Emily remembers it, “I totally lost it when I saw both of our families and so many of our close friends waiting for us to celebrate!”
Looking forward to capturing these two tie the knot at one of my absolute favorite venues, Timacuan Golf Club, in March of next year!
Venues: Mead Botanical Garden & Kraft Azalea Gardens
