Bayard and Margaret: Engaged

This October has been the busiest month for me all year (if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know what I’ve been up to and all the places I’ve been the last few weeks). I am very glad, however, that I was able to get October started by spending an evening with Bay and Maggie photographing their engagement in downtown Alexandria.

You might remember Bay and Maggie from their July 4th airport proposal as Margaret arrived home from a stay overseas. Bay and Maggie met at William and Mary, and now call Alexandria, portions of which closely resemble Williamsburg, home. With the beautiful cobblestone streets and lines of lights, the old city is warm and beautiful even on a cool evening as dusk rolls in.

These two are just adorkable and I love it.

Bayard and Margaret: The Proposal

Bay and I have known each other since 2005, when we started our first day of work on the exact same day together, so when he reached out asking about proposing to Margaret upon her arrival back from Iceland, I was excited to be a part of it!  Bay had everything ready; flowers hidden as not to immediately give himself away, a quote by Jane Austen, Maggie's favorite author, memorized, and a few helpers hidden including myself to spot Maggie and capture the proposal.  After a bit of anxious waiting, and texting while the flight was deplaning, Maggie finally came out the doors and Bay greeted her with a question he couldn't wait any longer to ask.

She said yes!

Leo and Chelsea: The Proposal

Leo and Chelsea have been dating since 2008.  The two met each other through friends at George Mason, and in the early times of their relationship, including their first date, they spent hours standing by the Reston Town Center skating rink talking into the wee hours of morning.  The two have been inseparable since they met and got together.  They graduated together; Leo watched Chelsea start her career with the Fairfax County Park Authority, and Chelsea watched Leo become a Fairfax County Police Officer.

Leo and I have known each other since high school; we had a math class together, and I always admired his car since we parked right by each other.  Incidentally, I met Chelsea in a psychology class at Mason.  So when Leo contacted me and told me he's popping the question, of course I was going to be there for them!

Because their relationship began in the plaza by the skating rink, it's only natural that that's the spot Leo had chosen to drop to one knee and pop the question.  The plan was simple; take Chelsea on a little date before Leo's family's weekly dinner... little did Chelsea know that it was just a ruse to get her back to the spot where it all began.  But that wasn't the biggest surprise Leo had in store for her; he had both their families and friends standing by waiting so they could all be witness to this big moment in their life together.

Leo had been giving me updates all afternoon, and when I spotted them, I hid behind some columns alongside the skating rink, just across from where they'd stopped.  Leo and Chelsea's longtime friends Emily and Ted had positioned themselves just across from me behind a directory to secretly film.  Finally it was time; Leo pointed out their family and friends, and even their dogs Calvin and Ollie, hidden in plain sight across the street, and dropped to one knee.

She said yes!

Some of the skaters had noticed what was going on the instant Leo dropped to one knee, and when he slipped on the ring and the kissed, the entire skating rink cheered for newly engaged Leo and Chelsea along with their family and friends.

Coincidentally, while waiting for Leo and Chelsea to arrive, I spotted another couple get engaged; you never know if a couple has a photographer for marriage proposals, so I snapped away when I spotted the gentleman dropping to one knee, and got them my contact information before they walked away.  If you are this couple, please contact me so I can deliver your pictures.

Chase and Briana: Engaged

Not long after Briana's return from Japan, I joined her and Chase on a hike around Riverbend Park in Great Falls, Virginia.  Upon reaching the dam, Chase and Briana enjoyed some downtime, bringing NERF guns and foam swords, jumping from rock to rock.

Chase and Briana: Reunited

Engaged couple Chase and Briana have spent the past year apart while Briana has worked in Japan, but were finally reunited at Ronald Reagan National Airport's beautiful Terminal Building.  Chase eagerly awaited Briana's arrival, anxiously watching for her flight to be marked as Landed on the flight information display.  On first sight of each other in a year, Briana broke out into a sprint and jumped into Chase's arms, all unaware Chase had secretly brought me along to capture the palpable emotion of their reunion.

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