It all started on Thursday during work with a group message from my best friend. It had some of the greatest news ever. I scrolled through back to where it began and read five words that made me smile from ear to ear “Pulkit is proposing to Sayali!” And so it began!!! I had known that it was coming soon, but I didn’t realize just how soon it would happen! Sachi and I went out to Target the next day to grab posters to help Pulkit make signs that spelled out “will you marry me?” across them and then we spent 15 minutes in the card aisle trying to find the perfect “congratulations” card. You’d never guess the amount of cheesy ones we ran into before stumbling upon the perfect card!! That night we spent half an hour putting together the posters with thick, black Sharpie to make sure she’d be able to read it from across the little reservoir in front of the Capitol Columns.

The next morning we started driving over into D.C. to the National Arboretum Capitol Columns to meet up with Pulkit to run through our game plan for the big moment, before Sayali got there. He had two of his friends there that she wouldn’t recognize who could essentially “hide” in plain sight without being recognized to take video and pictures with the columns in the back! Me, Sachi and Sayali’s sister Sanika would have to hide BEHIND the columns and snake around as Pulkit got down on one knee. We practiced where we would crouch and made sure that we weren’t visible. Pulkit let us know that he was planning on reciting a poem he’d written for her (it was SUPER cute!!) and that he’d then get down on one knee and that was our cue to run around with the signs that he would point us out to her before showing her the ring.

And so we crouched, and we waited, and we scouted for her car. And after what felt like an eternity to us (so I can’t even imagine what it felt like for Pulkit!!) we peered around the edges of the columns and we saw them come up over the hill right to the middle of the columns. He pointed out the columns to her, and pointed out the view the other way, pulling her around so that her back would be facing us as we ran to the side of the columns first. He finished his poem and got down onto one knee, the moment she had been waiting MONTHS for, was finally there. And it was perfect. Because she didn’t notice his two friends video taping or taking pictures to record the epic moment and she didn’t notice us running like little chickens, posters flapping in the wind. Because all she could focus on was her soon to be husband, asking her to be his wife!!! He got up and she hugged him and he pointed us out to her and her face was priceless. Really words don’t do it justice, just see the pictures!! And then after she realized he pulled out the ring to put it on her finger and to seal the deal and it was perfect.

They celebrated with everyone running out to her, to give her flowers, to give her the biggest hugs and congratulations and to see what we’d all been waiting for: THE RING!!! And boyyyyy is it a GORGEOUS RING!! Seriously none of us, especially Sayali of course, could stop staring at it! It caught every bit of sunlight that day and even later on at her parents’ house, every bit of light even at night!! They enjoyed popping some champagne and then took their first pictures as an officially engaged couple and the rest of the day was spent in absolute happiness and bliss and sharing the good news with everyone 🙂

Hehehe just hiding out behind the columns, nbd!!

WHEN SHE NOTICED US WITH OUR SIGNS SAYING “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” Best moment hahahahha 😀

Look at this STUNNNERRRRR of a ring!!!





The whole gang recreating the E.P.I.C. moment!!


Adorable, adorable, adorable!!

Coming home to the parents!!!

The ring is loved BY ALL!!

I’m so honored to take their engagement pictures later this month among the cherry blossoms and their engagement party later this spring with their family friends but I’m so glad to have been able to capture a part of the beginning of official their journey together as a newly engaged couple!!!! CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!!!!

For all of you that can’t get enough of proposal stories 

Botanical Gardens, Capitol Hill & Union Station Proposal – Wendy & Lucas

Georgetown Waterfront Proposal – Nakul & Lakshmi

 

 

This one had been in the books for a long time! Ever since I started becoming interested in wedding photography, I’ve looked up to Hannah of Hannah Smith Photography. This girl was someone that lived close to me and was about my age and doing something that I dream to do in a couple of years on my own! So safe to say when she asked me to second shoot with me in August, I did a little happy dance 🙂 I would get to photography another wedding while watching and learning from the sweetest, bubbliest pro! The drive down with Hannah and Madison was sooo much fun & I loved getting to work with them throughout the day, talk about a dream team! I could immediately tell that the day was gonna be a good one 🙂 The storms were holding off, we perused TJMaxx and had lunch at Chik Fil A before officially starting the day at Rock Hill Plantation.

And the entire day continued to be so easy-going!!! Jon & Melissa were sooo calm and easy to work with and you could tell that NOTHING could make their day any less than perfect! Even their bridal party was so easy to get along with, welcoming and the whole wedding felt like one big tight knit community that had come together to watch two of their beloved own finally tie the knot 🙂 And what better place to do so than Rock Hill Plantation in Stafford, VA. They had a BEAUTIFUL outdoor ceremony space in front of a gazebo, such a classy getting ready area for Melissa, the cutest little front porch and 3 baby goats! I have a thing for baby goats so I was freaking out a little and all three of them were SOO cute and nice (shots with goats included at the end)! Here are some of the highlights of Jon & Melissa’s big day!

This first look was the SWEETEST THING EVER!!!! This was my first time photographing one & I can see why photographers advocate for them!! It gives you guys some time to see each other, talk to each other & enjoy the day before your big moment!!

Definitely one of the funniest parts of the day!! These girls had soo much fun with these shots 🙂

^^^ THIS MELTED MY HEART!!!! Melissa watching the Mother Son dance 😀

And they finished off with a sparkler exit that looked like it was something out of a fairy tale 🙂

I loved getting to capture all the sweet moments throughout Jon & Melissa’s big day along with Hannah & can’t wait to work with her and Madison sometime again 🙂 iPhone pictures with goats below as promised!

Two Friday Fun posts in a row? Oh my…well I actually decided to take a break for this week, partially because of Fourth of July! My aunt, uncle and their one year old baby boy came for a couple of days and I spent so much time playing with him!! It was such a nice break from the past couple of crazy weeks. And just before I knew it Tuesday turned into Thursday night and this week just flew by!! So no, I didn’t hit my goal of blogging three times this week, but I’m ok with it! Here’s still a recap of some parts over the past week and a quick look at what’s to come!

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-My aunt’s baby was sooo stinking cute!!! I spent about five days playing with him and getting to know him, it was amazing 🙂 He was so full of energy, crawled all over the place faster than I could really keep up with sometimes! His favorite things to do included climbing our stairs (his house doesn’t have any so he was fascinated with ours), making things spin (the fidget spinner was a great hit), making noises with objects (I made a game of throwing a seashell in a bowl), and playing roll catch (I’m totally making that up) with a ball! He definitely could recognize who I was a couple of days in and we became great friends 🙂

-On the flip side, I didn’t really leave the house except for getting dinner on Friday and Saturday night. A lot of Gilmore Girls was watched which was great but when I don’t leave my house in like a day or two, I get SUPER antsy. I don’t know what it is but I get restless if I don’t, which often leads to trips to Harris Teeter, Target or the mall which can be dangerous

-Such a dangerous trip to the mall was made on Wednesday. I went to buy a new candle and came back with an additional lipstick, two dresses, and a top……so there goes my shopping for July! But I regret nothing, they were all great finds and things I will definitely be making use of

-I miss my brother who’s in Austin, TX for a school club project test run this week. I keep almost asking my parents where he is. It’s safe to say it’s been a little quieter around here after the baby left and without him around

-The Fourth of July got super rained out and I didn’t end up celebrating at all!! And I really love the holiday because it’s during the summer, it’s the perfect excuse to get together with friends and family, eat all the food and I absolutely LOVE fireworks. I’m like a little kid that stares up in awe and gets really excited over them. So I made the next day my own little personal July Fourth. I celebrated with breakfast for lunch, iced coffee that turned out being better warm, making brownies and decorating them with strawberries & whip cream to make a flag, and watching the fireworks in Ashburn. I also sat for half an hour picking out blue sprinkles from a multicolored batch for the “stars” on my flag hahaha 🙂

-Thursday was a day for bookkeeping, backing up my hard drives, cleaning out my SD cards, recharging my camera battery, packing and planning for Charlottesville. I’ll be there this weekend celebrating being back with friends that I haven’t seen in so long and I am SO excited!! We’re planning on going to Pippin Hill (favorite winery) and Bold Rock (favorite brewery), eating at ALL the essential places on the Corner, celebrating a friend’s 22nd birthday and the soon-to-be moving out of another friend! It’s going to be such a fun weekend filled with sooo much food and a little booze 😉 If someone can muster up some sparklers, it’ll make it a week of celebrating the fourth! Here’s a couple of pictures of some of the girls I can’t wait to meet up with for dinner tonight!