We’re starting out the week with the most romantic engagement shoot. We love all of the settings, from the steps in Washington D.C. and the beautiful shots in the park. But we are absolutely swooning over the shots taken at home – the dough, the coffee mugs – sweetness overload! One of our #PrettyPerfectPartners Ashleigh Bing from Shoot Happens Photography knocked it out of the park with this gorgeous engagement shoot.
How they met, from the bride:
It was my first few weeks after moving back to Washington, D.C. for a new job at a local public relations firm about a year or two out of college. I was excited to be attending my first big event back in the city – the Congressional Black Caucus’ Phoenix Awards Gala, with my boss. I was wearing this floor-length black sequined DVF wrap dress that was just beyond elegant and womanly, hair pulled back, statement earrings, I felt like a million bucks. My boss and I spent the evening chatting up a former client, discussing potential new projects and opportunities to work together. There was one man in the group who I was completely intrigued by. He stood out for his quiet humility, he spoke when he had something to add to the conversation, had no desire to be the center of attention, looked each person he spoke to in the eyes – and seemed to completely ignore me. I mean straight up ignore, no sneaking or lingering look, no attempt to make conversation with me beyond the group’s conversation and definitely no attempt to flirt even subtly. Did I say I was looking good?! Nada, nothing, zip, zilch, Stevie Wonder. Of course, like most women, this drew me to him even more. At the end of the evening, we all exchanged information. I reached out to him that week (don’t judge my forwardness) and suggested we have dinner. He was traveling for a month, but kept his word – giving me a call when he got back in town and meeting me for dinner. We sat and talked for hours on end and not wanting to end the night, walked to a local reggae bar on U Street and danced till we were soaked in sweat and couldn’t stop laughing. Things took off from there and our journey these past 5 years has been nothing short of exciting. I have since moved on from that PR agency and – while we never got more work with his company, I got my amazing fiance!
The Proposal
“You know, I was the girl that poured over wedding blogs and cried buckets of tears at the elaborate youtube proposals. I spent a lot of time imagining the proposal I wanted, but I realized I didn’t spend much time thinking about how I wanted a proposal to feel. At the end of the day, our proposal felt perfect. We were visiting our friends for our god daughter Skylar’s (their daughter) first birthday. We spent the day before helping to plan, prep and host her birthday party. He knows that Skylar, and her mother are two of the lights of my life. It was the next morning and we were hanging out in the living room, laughing at the new things Skylar was learning to do and preparing to go to brunch. I took over duties of getting Skylar ready to go, getting her dressed and her things together. I’d noticed my fiance watching me with the baby, with a look that was full of love (and a little mischievous). I could tell he wanted to say or do something – usually when he likes what I have on, he’ll call me over to him and do something cute or cheeky. He called me over to him, and instead of being cheeky he asked me to sit down. I was holding our god daughter in my lap as I sat down and he started telling me all about our love and when he knew he wanted to marry me and how he wanted to start a family together. My friend had no idea and was just as surprised as I was, although we found out later that her husband knew the whole time. It was just a perfect moment, surrounded by people I love and a feeling I will cherish for a long time. We then went to brunch to celebrate and called our parents, I found out then that he’d gone to visit my parents and ask their permission. The proposal was followed by a romantic weekend trip to one of our favorite resorts in Mexico, Grand Velas. It was just perfect for us.
Vendors:
Photography:Shoot Happens Photography//Dress:Christie Brown//Suit: J. Benzel
