The day that I get to meet my clients for their pre-wedding engagement session is often one of my FAVORITE of their entire wedding experience. I finally get to give them big (socially distanced) air hugs, get to see them interact as a couple, can chat about all things wedding in person, and also get to have a BLAST exploring a location that means a lot to my couple! This engagement session felt a little extra special to me! You see… I’ve known both Michael and Jenna since our time at Penn State, but this would be the first time that I would hang out with them as a couple!
Michael and Jenna both went to Penn State where they had many mutual friends. Throughout their time as students, they grew closer through their involvement in various organizations that they were involved in (Which is also how I met these two individually!). Though they were dating other people at the time, they quickly became close friends before graduating, partly due to their love for (in my humble opinion) Penn State’s best dive bar, the Phyrst. Their friendship carried on well after graduation. After graduation, Michael was deployed, and Jenna began grad school. Gradually, they realized there was a little more to their friendship, and from there, the rest was history!
Jenna had NO idea that the proposal was coming when it did— in fact, she didn’t even realize that Michael had purchased a ring! (Spoiler alert: he had actually had it for MONTHS!) They were doing long distance at the time, and Jenna flew to Michael’s the night before their proposal. They were prepping to go to the beach and Michael asked: “Do you want to put on real clothes in case we go to the grocery store?” to which Jenna replied… “this is a beach town!! I can wear this!”
On their way to the beach, Michael played a curated mix of all the songs that reminded him of their relationship and recreated a meaningful night they shared together at Penn State. Jenna was blindfolded, so she didn’t know where they were going (That didn’t stop her from happy crying for the entire 13-minute car ride when she caught on to what may be going on!!) She was led to a boat ramp with a beautiful view where she continued to happy cry right through screaming YES! (And did I happy cry all over again for them while re-typing their story for this post? Maybe!)
Jenna and Michael are some of the most genuine and easy-going people that I know and are such a joy to be around. They recently moved to Alexandria, VA, and after discussing a few locations in the area, we knew there would only be one PERFECT spot for their session: Old Town! We met bright and early to help avoid people and had SO much fun exploring so many iconic spots. I don’t know that I’ve EVER laughed harder during an engagement session! I could go on and on about these two, but I think I should let the photos speak for themselves. I hope y’all are ready for some serious sweetness!
These two knocked their “warmup shots” right out of the park!
I just love their joy! 
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