Romantic Engagement Session in Staunton, Virginia
August 3, 2018
We first met Madeline over coffee almost a year ago. At this point, her and Jonathan were recently engaged, and had just started the wedding planning process. Having grown up in the Charlottesville area, she knew they’d be returning to the small Episcopal Church that her grandmother had once pastored to get married, despite the 250+ miles between it and their new home in Charleston, West Virginia. We instantly fell in love with the intimate, home-town dreams that Madeline had for their wedding day, but even more with her and Jonathan’s story. They met at a wedding, for goodness sake! Weddings are our thing!
When it comes to the shoot itself, I really only have two words to describe it. Weeping. Willows. WOW!! Okay, that was three words, but Hunter and I cannot get enough of the beautiful trees that were scattered across Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton, Virginia. We felt like we had been transported to some far-south plantation and were expecting a small riverboat to chug by at any minute. The natural beauty of the park was rivaled only by the natural beauty of Madeline and Jonathan, and the way they looked at each other throughout the shoot. We realized almost as soon as we started that Jonathan – like a lot of the guys we meet and photograph – isn’t really a look-at-the-camera-and-smile kind of guy (which is totally cool). But as soon as we asked him to look down at his bride-to-be… well… you can see for yourself.
Madeline + Jonathan,
We are so glad to have finally gotten together again. We know that you both sacrificed so much to make it all the way to Charlottesville for the engagement session. The fact that the shoot almost didn’t happen after a last-minute-illness-reschedule makes us all the more excited that we finally connected last week. We also cannot thank you enough for generously showing us around Staunton after the shoot, and for taking us out for drinks and tapas afterwards! Don’t get me wrong – as certified foodies, we sincerely appreciated the cuisine – but even more important to us was the time to connect and get to know you both even more. We absolutely cannot WAIT for your wedding next month!!
With love,
Sarah + Hunter
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