Rina and David rolled with the punches with us. We went to Great Falls to do their engagement shoot, but the access to the falls were closed that day. We ended up leaving Great Falls and driving out to Roaches Run to get some sweet engagement photos of them on their motorcycle.
How did you two meet?
The funny thing is that we used to live a mile down the road from each other in the same city for several years and never ran into each other through high school and most of our 20s. We shared the same friends and the first time that we met was when I was celebrating my 29th birthday at one of the local restaurants where we live.
Who proposed and how?
Dave proposed. :-) We got up early on a Saturday morning and he told me that we were going to go out for a long ride and that we had a couple of things to do for the day. It was my birthday weekend so I figured he had thought of something but had no idea that he was going to propose. He knows that I like to be surprised so he made sure to tell me nothing about the day. After a couple of hours on the road I realized we were going to Harpers Ferry. I had never been there so I was excited about getting to see the area. We had lunch and then we drove around everywhere trying to find parking in order to walk around the area - the place was super packed. It happened to be Easter weekend too so I think there were more people than usual. I thought it was odd that he kept on insisting on finding a spot to walk around because I figured we could just come back another day. We finally found an area to park and walked around looking around. I had no idea that he was trying to find somewhere quiet at the time but we seemed to always have people around us. Eventually, we left and headed back to Virginia. After going out for dinner we were headed home and the sun was starting to go down, Dave mentioned that we had to do a quick stop before going home. He parked near a local park where we live and I joked around that I couldn’t go into the park after dark since it clearly states that the park closes at night. I then started babbling about the bears that had been spotted in Vienna on the local news, as I was blabbing away he had me sit on a bench (meanwhile I’m still yapping) when he then got on one knee and proposed. I was soooo surprised and happy and in the back of my mind I thought… geeez I was just talking about bears. After that we headed home talking about who we needed to call to let them know asap and then I opened the door to our home and lo and behold a bunch of our friends were in our house hiding ready to surprise me for my birthday! After a bit of a mini heart attack - they too got a surprise when I showed them the ring on my finger! It was a great day :-)
Tell me about the details you're most excited about for your upcoming wedding!
I loveee the venue where we are getting married. I knew I wanted our ceremony to be outside. I looked at numerous venues in MD and VA and then stumbled across Rock Hill Plantation. I absolutely loved the house and the wrap around porch. I also loved the gazebo that they have so I’m super excited to capture that day with our friends and family at a beautiful location.
What did you each wear to your session?
We were our regular clothes that we wear whenever we’re on the bike. Jeans and a Shirt. Dave has been riding motorcycles since he was a kid and I wanted to get pictures of something that we both enjoy doing.
What kind of look were you going for?
I was going for pictures that capture what we look like every day.
Do you have any tips or advice for other couples about to have engagement photos taken?
It made it really easy to just have fun and joke around. Be prepared to be staring at each other very closely. Also - remember that you’ll be smooching a lot so you might want to stay away from the sticky lip gloss. ;)
How was your overall session experience?
We had a great time! We felt very comfortable and I was ecstatic that I think Dave genuinely had a great time! Thank you!!!