Engagement Photos in Leesburg Virginia

Katherine & Steve are one of those couples that had to postpone their engagement session and wedding date quite a few times because of Covid.

When we finally got the chance to be out and about again we talked about location and what better place than the town where they met for the first time in person, Leesburg, Virginia.

After meeting on eHarmony, they decided it was time to meet in person hoping that the connection was there just like it was via messages. It took them forever to order an appetizer because they couldn’t stop talking. At one point she asked Steve to stand up so she could take a better look at him and she asked him on a second date before the first one was over!

He immediately knew there was something special so he saved the receipt and gave it to her on their first anniversary!

Katherine: “I knew he was the one after a few months of dating. We went to a paint night together. I was a little wary because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and have never been very good at abstract art, halfway through the painting, I looked up and mine looked NOTHING like the instructor’s. Like any recovering perfectionist would, I started to panic and even began to tear up. I knew my reaction was ridiculous, which made my eyes water even more! I tried to wipe my tears away but managed to get paint on my face. ‘What a mess,’ I thought, ‘this guy is going to think I’m a total spaz.’ I finally turned and said, “I don’t know why I’m crying, I’m sorry and I think I got paint on my face.” Steve just looked at me, smiled, and proceeded to paint his own face in the same spots which immediately made me smile and the rest of the class laugh. He continues to do whatever he can to put a smile on my face, no matter how goofy he looks doing it.”

Stephen: “I knew she was the one one night, about 5 or 6 months into dating, when she came along with my family to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. We went out one night that week on vacation to a sound side restaurant just the two of us. We talked about our favorite family vacation spots (Mine is the Outer Banks, Katherine's is at Squam Lakes in New Hampshire), about our relationship, and about the future. Again it took a long time for us to order, but I have such a wonderful memory of the sunset and her giant smile as we talked and enjoyed each other's company.”

The proposal: Well the idea came when I was flying home from a work trip, I had a long flight and ended up having a bunch of time to think. I realized in that moment that I had never missed someone as much as I had missed her. She had taken a girls trip that same week so we did not get to talk much except for one evening for about 20 minutes.

There was a video I had taken back in 2015 on my phone when I went with a group of friends out to Deep Creek, Maryland. We went to the top of the Muddy Creek falls and I took a video of the view from the top of the falls. I look at that video often and always loved how spectacular the view was. I decided on the flight that the top of the waterfall would be where I would propose.

I rented a cabin on Deep Creek Lake for two nights. My uncle was very generous and camped out on Friday night through a thunderstorm with all of his photography equipment so that he could get to the falls before us to setup at an overlook above the falls. I told Katherine that we would be going out to a nicer lunch after our walk to see the falls because I figured she wouldn't be the happiest if I got all of the pictures of us if she was wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I think she knew something was up because she wore a sundress and jean jacket to walk in the woods!

We walked along the river until we got to the falls and walked up the wood stairs that led to the top, there were not too many people at the falls thankfully due to the storm the night before, but I walked out towards a rock on the middle of the falls and couldn't quite get out far enough for my uncle to see us, so I walked through the water and convinced Katherine to walk out with me. As she was turning to look upstream, I quickly got down on one knee and all the people around started cheering. Katherine finally turned around and was surprised to see me there with the ring in my hand. I managed to muster, "...will you marry me?" and she said yes. Once she had a second to collect herself, I said that I had one more surprise, and pointed to the overlook where my uncle stood waiving to us. I think that surprised her more than the proposal did! A family at the top of the falls also managed to get a video of the proposal and waited until we got off of the falls to send it to me. It could not have worked out any better.

I get asked a lot how do I get those candid moments in between my couples, how do I capture them in the most raw moments and the answer is I get to know who they are as people, as a couple before any session!

This engagement session with Katherine & Steve was soooo much fun! It wasn’t a 30 minute shoot and goodbye. It was several video calls, text messages and conversations. The more I have that communication the more I know them and the more I capture them for who THEY ARE!

If you enjoyed this session and you are planning your special day, click on the button below and “Let’s Chat!”