Cindy and Everett graciously traveled to Austin for their engagement portraits, and I couldn't have had a better time with them. Their love story is so unique, and their bright spirit was utterly infectious. It almost felt like we laughed throughout the whole shoot. Everett always knew how to make Cindy giggle, and all the sweet moments in between were just adorable and endearing. One thing I absolutely appreciated was how much trust they had in me and was always open to anything. They made my job way too easy, and it only makes me more excited to photograph their wedding in September. 

Where do I even begin to describe Linda and Jonathan? To start off, these two are some of my favorite people in the world. With Jonathan's humor and Linda's sweetness, our session couldn't have been more enjoyable. They brought such a bright energy to their session and had me laughing from start to finish. The cherry-on-top for this session was that I got to work with their tuxedo pup, Shadow, who's just hands down the sweetest dog in the world. In addition to that, the sun was finally out. It had been raining in Austin for two weeks straight, and while I personally enjoy the rain, I was looking forward to the post-rain sun light. You know what I mean? That beautiful, soft and ethereal glow. After chasing the last 30 minutes of that glorious sunset, we ended at the dock where the the air grew crisp and the water reflected a breath-taking palette. 

It's been incredibly fun getting to know Linda and Jonathan. Their relationship epitomizes the joy and beauty that marriage provides, and I'm so glad I got to capture that in these photos. I still can't stop obsessing how pretty these images turned out! 

Joseph and Sean's engagement is a story that will live in my memory for years to come. I can't even begin to describe what an experience it was, but it for sure guarantees a happy ending. Though I'm based in Austin, I'm always excited when I have opportunities to travel for my clients. The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden has been on my radar for quite some time now so what better way to explore it than to combine it with a photo session!

For those who know Texas weather, it's fickle as heck. In one minute, the sun shines gloriously, but the next minute, it rains cats and dogs. And yes, that's exactly what happened the moment Joseph showed up at the proposal site. We, including Joseph and Sean's family, all hid under the arch of trees as best as we could, but we eventually got drenched in the rain. What a way to start everything, huh? 

Enough words from me, though. Here's the whole story told by the future Mr. and Mrs. 

---

JOSEPH: Chapter 1: Pre-planning

The Proposal, as told by the soaking husband-to-be: 

I had originally planned to set up a day of fun surprises for her including all of her favorite things (brunch, nails, puppies, donuts, etc) but after talking to a few friends, they said it was more worthwhile to save the exact moment. So I decided to plan to propose at a venue that Sean and I LOVED, but wouldn't be able to use due to capacity. This way, she'd still get to experience a special moment at an area that she loved. I got her mom to meet us there, and planned for a group of friends and family to meet us that evening for dinner. 

SEAN: I already had a feeling that Joseph was going to propose when he did because he said that he was going to this summer, and this was the first weekend we were seeing each other in about three weeks because I was studying abroad in China. That morning, I had gone to a friend's bridal shower and had to leave early to meet my mom at the arboretum to meet with our wedding planner. I had been eyeing the arboretum as a possible venue because it was so beautiful. I was actually kind of sad because I had a strong feeling that we would not be able to book it, but we decided to go anyway. 

JOSEPH: Chapter 2: The Proposal - Let it rain

My parents and brother had flown in and Sean's parents and sister met us at the garden about 15 minutes before Sean arrived. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and love was most definitely in the air. We paid for our entry fee and headed over to the location. Just as we were arriving, it started to rain. Not like, the sky accidentally spit on you rain. It was more, heaven nailing us with a water hose rain. Needless to say, all of us were soaked, and the girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend) was nowhere to be found. 

SEAN: I met my mom at the entrance of the Crepe Myrtle Allee and saw Joseph standing at the end of the aisle. I laughed when I saw him because he told me that he didn't want to go visit the venue with me, and there he was! It was so surreal and funny to walk down the aisle as my future husband-to-be waited at the end of aisle.

JOSEPH: The rain died down 15 minutes in and Sean took about 10 more than that. She was taking her sweet time tip toeing through the rain since she was dry from sitting it out in her car. There's nothing really like watching the woman of your dreams walk towards you as you prepare to make the 2nd biggest decision of your life (Jesus first, always folks). I really wanted to make her melt with some eloquent words but all I could dribble out was some mumbo-jumbo about Jesus or something. I wrapped it up, asked her if she was ready, got on my knee, pulled out DAT ROCK, and asked her to marry me. She said yes. 

SEAN: He said some really sweet things about us, our journey, how far God has taken us and how much farther we have to go as we walk with Him. He then asked me if I was ready (for him to propose) and I said no out of excitement, fear and a rush of emotions. He then joked that he could propose at another time instead and I saw no to that suggestion also. He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I just giggled the whole time because I couldn't contain my excitement - and to keep myself from crying. It was a sweet and surreal moment of revelation of God's faithful promise of bringing forth a man after His own heart to romance and love and care for me, a daughter of the King. I can't wait for this next season of life in growing together in knowing Him and making Him known!

JOSEPH: Chapter 3 - Friends that became family

I kind of knew Sean had already realized that I was proposing on that day. You can ask her about that. However, she didn't know that she had 30+ of her closest friends in town and much of her family ready to celebrate with her! We had dinner and drinks at an excellent restaurant and had a blast reflecting on how incredible its been to have these people around us as Sean and I progressed in our dating relationship. The night continued with flashes of the running man, some Mario, and patty melts. Best day of my life, to date. The end.

SEAN: Side note - The story of the ring is actually a really sweet and important backstory of the proposal. So I had been very obvious with ring designs that I liked, and it was really important to me that Joseph like the ring too because, well he was paying for it, haha. The one that he ended up giving to me is a design that we both loved. He presented the design to a small mom and pop jewelry store we visited in Irvine, CA a few years ago, and they were amazing to learn from and work with. They custom designed my ring around the center diamond - each design is original and unique. The diamond itself has an important story too. My dad and Joseph picked out the diamond together from my dad's jeweler. It was so sweet to hear that it was a joint effort from both my dad and Joseph because this was an act of love for my dad to physically give his blessing to us by choosing the best diamond that he could. My dad and Joseph have always had a great relationship and hearing this story just made my heart melt. 

JOSEPH: PS. Vickie Liu and Amy Kersetter are bomb. The end. 
(thanks for the shout-out!)

Proposal Site: The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
Reception Venue: Meddlesome Moth
Coordinator: Amy Kersetter
Chalkboard Art: Joanne Hu