Sigh, another proposal in the books! I have so much love for David and Jenny as they are two of the most genuine, kindhearted people I've ever met. I've had the pleasure of getting to know them these couple of years and being present to witness their lives transition from one season to the next. 

Now, before I transition into the photos, I can't help but share my part in all of this because of the hilarity and awkwardness throughout. While photographing a proposal may not be my first rodeo, the inevitable is that I can never predict what will actually happen. For some guys, they'll meet up with me at the proposal site to run through the game plan while they wait for their lady's arrival. For others, it's easier to disguise it as a date by arriving together while I hide myself in the bushes somewhere. (Honestly, 75% of the job is just me hiding and stalking...and being creepy). And that's exactly how we did it for David's proposal. 

The tricky thing about the 360 Bridge is that (1) there's hiking involved and (2) it's almost guaranteed to be crowded on a weekend. To add to that, it had also rained so we had to conquer muddy pathways, slippery rocks, and mosquito infestation. Once I established my position behind a bush, I pretended to be an Asian tourist while secretly photographing Jenny and David as they made their way up the overlook. Since it was crowded, David led Jenny into a narrow path towards his spot while I tiptoed behind them, half photographing, half trying to stay on the down-low. At first, it was easy to hide because we were still in a populated area, but since David's spot was deeper in the forest trail, it was becoming harder to stay hidden. At this point, I'm literally stalking them... 10 feet behind. So far so good though. After a few minutes, David finally settled down with Jenny on a ledge while looking out onto the lake. Me? I became a cafeteria for mosquitoes. Just imagine... a cute couple enjoying the view while in the distant background, a crazy woman is jumping around while simultaneously swatting and photographing. Clearly, I was doing a great job at hiding. Just then, David decided to bring Jenny back up to flat ground, where I was standing. Busted! I pretended to be surprised to see them, continuing my tourist facade, but like any woman being proposed to, Jenny's mind clicked, and this is where the photos will tell the rest of the story...

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. 

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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