19 Jun Courtney and Bryan {Engagement Session}
Before the wedding, there is the inevitable engagement. I love engagement sessions, they are one of my many favorite parts of a wedding. There is joy that pervades the images. The couples are always beaming. {And it never hurts to have a ridiculously gorgeous setting, fabulous lighting and a great photographer that puts you at ease and makes it an adventure!}
The way Bryan and I met I will never forget. We met in 2006 when I was working in the Intensive Care unit at Bon Secours St Francis Hospital. His father was a patient in the unit and the first morning he came to see his father I was his dad’s nurse. We chatted that morning briefly, but the more he came to visit, the more we chatted. I got to know him and his family during his father’s month stay in the ICU. One evening we exchanged numbers and a week later we went on our first date; needless to say we have been together ever since. In 2007, I went off to anesthesia school in Augusta, GA and we continued our relationship on a long distance basis.
In July 2008, Bryan came in to town on a Friday unexpectedly. On that Saturday night we went to dinner at Bone Fish Grill. After dinner, Bryan wanted to go somewhere to walk, so I suggested we go downtown by the river. As we were sitting on a bench overlooking the water, I kept asking Bryan if we could leave because I was getting eaten by mosquitoes. He kept saying he was not ready. Then finally he said, “Are you ready?” My reply, “YES!” And then he repeated, “No, Are you Ready?” And he got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?” Of course, me being in shock it took me a minute (hence, the rock dimples in his knees), but I did say YES!!! So, we both grew up near and on the water, we got engaged by the water, and we cannot wait to get married by the water at Middleton Place in September.
The Connellys were referred up to us by our neighbor. After looking at several photographers works, I knew that I wanted Darrell to be our photographer. For our engagement photographs, we wanted something different. We did not want a beach scene and we did not want the Charleston scene. So we asked Darrell what he thought and he mentioned this location. We had no clue what to expect or how things were going to turn out. At the beginning of the session we were both a bit uncomfortable, but by the end it was as if we had known Darrell for years. Once the session was over we could not wait to see our pictures. When our pictures were posted, we looked through all of them and I can honestly say that I cried. They are the most beautiful pictures of both of us! We are extremely happy with the way they turned out and cannot wait until our wedding day and all of the pictures we will have for a lifetime.
Photographs courtesy of The Connellys
