Sarah and Wayne met me out in St Augustine for a beautiful outdoor engagement at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. While it was a chilly morning, the two warmed one another up with sweet kisses and snuggling up in one another’s arms.
The moment when you first meet the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with truly feels like time has stopped. While I tried to put in words how Sarah and Wayne first met, I could not do it justice and felt it only best to quote my sweet bride to be. As Sarah explains, “I will never forget the moment Wayne and I met. We connected instantly. I had just stared working at the JCPenney Jewelry Store, where Wayne also worked, and was in my first week of training. We took a break one day to walk around the store. I walked over to the jewelry counter and there was Wayne, wearing a leather jacket. He turned and looked at me and said, “Hi, I’m Wayne” and reached his hand out for me to shake it. I thought, wow this guy is really confident! Little did I know this was out of character for Wayne, because he was actually very shy, especially when it came to talking to girls. I guess I really caught his eye.”
After only about a year of dating, Sarah and Wayne had both felt like they had known one another for a lifetime. Wayne fell in love with Sarah’s smile and the emotion behind it. Her happiness made him happy. Sarah fell more and more in love with how caring and selfless of a person Wayne is. The two connected in a way that they had never done so with another before and realized that their love was true love.
Wayne is a little bit of a planner. Years before planning the time to propose to Sarah, he had picked out a ring. He wanted his proposal to her to be special and knew that in his heart the day would come when he would be ready to ask for her hand in marriage at the perfect moment. As Sarah reminisces, “Christmas Eve 2015 we were at home opening presents and watching A Christmas Story on t.v., just the two of us. I wasn’t expecting him to propose that night. It was the last present at the bottom of a gift bag. Before I knew what was happening he got down on one knee and started telling me all the things he loved about me and how it was time. It was a mixture of crying and laughing, and of course I said yes.”
Wedding planning advice is so helpful in planning your big day. With so much to do to create the vision you dreamed of, I find it helpful to ask my couples the best piece of advice they have received and would give. Wayne and Sarah both agreed that the best piece of advice they received was to “take your time, enjoy being engaged, don’t rush it.” Truly taking the time to enjoy the moment is so precious. For others, they responded “to not get lost in the wedding planning” as you will get lost on “what truly brought you this moment. Consider if your choices are what you really want for each other or for your wedding guests. Your wedding is only one day and it will go by so fast.”
Looking forward to capturing Sarah and Wayne tie the knot at the spectacular Estate on the Halifax this coming October.
Venue: Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
