Our Engagement Photos

Dress | Bracelet | Shoes

This post is so close to my heart, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to share it or not. I've loved that our engagement story has been reserved for just our family and close friends, but when I decided to start this website and blog I did it with the intension of sharing my life. Our engagement and upcoming wedding make me so incredibly happy every single day I feel like sharing this glimpse into our life is such a big part of getting to know me.

Patrick and I have been together for a little over 8 years and every single year has just gotten better and better. After college I made so many big changes in my life: new friends, new jobs but Patrick was always a constant. The older and wiser I became, the more I realized each and every day how lucky I was to have him in my life. He's the most kind, loving and selfless person I've ever met and our relationship has always just felt so right and been so easy. After our 4 year anniversary, and a serious talk about wanting to marry each other, we made the decision to move in together. It was the best decision I've ever made {more on that in an upcoming post!}. I'd say the only downside {which isn't even a downside} was that since we already felt married we postponed our engagement until we accomplished some individual personal goals. Patrick was pursuing his architecture license and I started my first business, a fashion-tech company. By our 7 year anniversary, last year, we were both exactly where we had hoped to be professionally and the timing just felt right. 

One week before Christmas, Patrick proposed. It felt like a complete dream. He had told me that my Christmas present was a surprise romantic day in New York City, something I had asked for over a material gift. I woke up that morning ready for possible ice-skating and tree viewing and a show. An engagement wasn't even on my mind thanks to my incredibly sneaky sister who convinced me that it wasn't happening until sometime after the holidays. Patrick had gotten a private key to Gramercy Park {the only private park in NYC} and after a walk around the grounds he dropped to one knee. Even when you sense it may be coming, that moment is indescribable. This insane euphoria pours over you and all I can remember is ugly crying and shaking my head 'yes' a million times. As soon as he placed the ring on my finger, my sister and her boyfriend jumped out from behind the bushes. Her boyfriend is a professional photographer who had captured the moment and my sister had video taped it on her iPhone {something I still watch almost every day}. We all walked across the street to the Gramercy Park Hotel where they had a bottle of champagne waiting for us. Just when I thought the day couldn't get better, Patrick told me he made dinner reservations for just the two of us but when we walked into the back room of my favorite restaurant, both of our families were there. Again came the tears. After dinner, we went to the rooftop of a hotel where a bunch of our friends were, waiting to celebrate. It was just surprise after surprise and the absolute best day I've ever had. 

Taking our engagement photos a few months ago also felt surreal. We talked the whole time while shooting about how the next time we'd be posing for photos would be on our wedding day. The incredibly talented Abby Jiu shot them for us at a gorgeous estate in D.C. Since we're getting married in New York City, we wanted to document having met and lived in this city for so long and this place was perfect. I know people have mixed feelings about engagement photos, but we had so much fun taking them and they felt like a practice round for wedding photos. They'll always bring us back to this time in our life and they definitely are a nice upgrade from the iPhone quality photos around our home. If you're on the fence about investing in them, you definitely should!