Florida Garden Engagement

Merissa and Lenny met me up at Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida for their adorable engagement. Keeping it casual, the two wandered with me through the gardens in search of hidden gems for backdrops.

How They Met

Their love story began when the two were freshman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Living across the hall from one another, Merissa and her friends quickly gained a reputation with Lenny for talking at all hours of the night. While he wasn’t her biggest fan at first, she won him over after they began hanging out in through their mutual friend group. Having two classes together, University 101 and Engineering, they also spent time working on projects together and became the best of friends. It wasn’t until 2012 when Lenny and Merissa officially began dating, but since that year they have been absolutely inseparable.

What They Love Most

With their romance starting through a friendship, the two can truly be themselves around one another and are each other’s biggest support system. As they explain, “even after having a long distance relationship for two years when Merissa moved to Ohio, we were still able to grow our relationship and become stronger together.”

The Proposal

As their future began to unfold from jobs to proximity, the two began looking towards next steps. Starting with building a home together, they purchased a home that would be built on a plot of their choice in the sweetest neighborhood. A big step, Merissa was adamant with Lenny in letting him know that she did not want to start building a home until they were engaged.

Well on August 9th of this year, Lenny and Merissa headed to their plot for final inspection. Walking around in a jacket – mind you it was 93 degrees out – Merissa didn’t think anything of Lenny’s odd behavior. Even when she asked to leave since it was about to rain, but her persisted in wanting to thoroughly check everything out, did she realize what was to come. Walking hand in hand, right as they were about to leave, Lenny turned to Merissa and pulled out a ring from his jacket. Asking for her hand in marriage on their little piece of heaven where their home would soon be built, she of course said, “yes!”

The excitement was even more so when Merissa found out that Lenny had let her entire family in on the secret and known – yep, not even one! – told her!

Looking forward to our team capture Merissa and Lenny tying the knot this April at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Florida!