Tags archives: engagement

Darby & Justin – Proposal Story at Studio SabkaFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

I love weddings!  But the wedding starts with the proposal and I am always so excited to get the opportunity to photograph the moment when He says will you marry me and she says YES!!!!

A few weeks ago Darby’s Dad called me about photographing the upcoming engagement of his daughter.  I photographed one of his other daughter’s weddings a few years ago so I was so happy that I was available and able to work with this family again.

Darby is a budding artist, she loves to paint.  Her fiancé Justin orchestrated one of the most touching and thoughtful proposals.  He told her they were going to be attending a painting class together at Studio Sabka in downtown Fort Worth.  Little did she know while they had a delicious dinner their family and friends were transforming this gallery into a showing of her paintings!  When they walked in she was surrounded by her very own art and Justin dropped to one knee as he asked her to marry him.  She said YES! Then their family and friends cheered and enjoyed a lovely eating toasting champagne, admiring her new bling and telling her all the times they had to lie to her that week to keep the secret.

Before taking the party to her parents house Darby & Justin headed over to the Modern Art Museum with me to take some engagement portraits with the holiday lights.  It was gorgeous!  Thanks Darby & Justin for letting me tell you story and best of wishes in all your wedding planning and your marriage!

Kelly & Garrett – Engagement Session in Highland Park & Trinity GrovesDallas, Texas

Engagement

Kelly & Garrett are an awesome couple that was brought together through mutual friends for a night out in Dallas.  These two clicked immediately and when it came time for Garrett to propose to Kelly he knew just what to do – he took them back to their beginning to start their next new chapter.  Here is their proposal story in Kelly’s words:

“Garrett decided that for the proposal, he wanted to go back to where it all began. He planned lunch for him and I at a restaurant inside the Joule Hotel with his brother, Kenny, and sister-in-law, Hilary, disguised as an early birthday celebration for me. After brunch Garrett suggested we pop down to Midnight Rambler for a drink before we were supposed to head to Fort Worth for “a friend’s house warming party.” As we walked down the stairs to Midnight Rambler there was a sign with our names and the date on it. He sat me down at the table where we first met and proposed. He then admitted that there really was no house warming party, and instead we were going to my parent’s house in Fort Worth to celebrate with them and his brother and sister-in-law. Once we arrived at my parent’s house, all of our out of town family surprised me! We got to spend a few hours there reliving the moment and drinking champagne, and he then convinced me we were all going to Joe T’s to continue the celebration for dinner. Upon arriving at Joe T’s, Garrett surprised me again as he had several of our best friends come in town to celebrate our engagement! If you can’t tell by now he is quite the planner!” – Kelly

Isn’t he the sweetest?!?  I just love that he made sure to include their close family and friends and that they took the party from Dallas to her home in Fort Worth to see those special people and celebrate!  Their story began and is running it’s course in Dallas but next year they will say I do in Fort Worth and I can’t wait!  For their session we spent time in the classic Highland Park area before hitting up Trinity Groves and capturing some sunset vibes with the Dallas skyline in the background.

-Tracy

Caroline & Max – Engagement Session at Colonial Country ClubFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

I am so excited about this wedding!  Why?  Because Max is the brother of one of my fabulous past brides and Caroline is her best friend!  It’s a perfect match and I just love them together.  I love their beginning story as it may have taken awhile to move from friends to romance but I think it’s perfection:

“Max and I met when I was a freshman in college at OU because I was his sisters roomate. Abbey and I ended up living together all four years of college and naturally max and I became close friends since he was also at OU with us. Never crossed my mind of dating him during college because he was abbeys big brother. He took care of us, was always there when we needed him, and became one of my closest guy friends. It wasn’t until post grad that our paths crossed when we were both back living in dallas. We started hanging out with each other more and more and one night it hit me that I was developing feelings for him. We talked and both mutually agreed that feelings were there but had to get abbeys blessing before anything happened. So after talking to her and filling her in we decided to see what would happen. Although weird at first, since to everyone he was “Abbey’s brother”, the narrative eventually changed to just Max and Caroline. It happened very organically and out of the blue but I can’t imagine now us not being together. Two and a half years later and were getting married.” – Caroline

For their engagement session we selected The Colonial Country Club.  Both of these two have ties to golf and it’s classic backdrops, gorgeous golf course and of course these two happy people made for perfection!  Caroline’s Mom served as our tour guide and showed us some amazing spots on the golf course then we played inside.  I adore this silhouette shot above – so sexy and elegant!

Can’t wait for the wedding you two!  Have fun this week on your family vacay!

-Tracy

Brittany & Tommy – Engagement Photos at Willowood RanchBells, Texas

Engagement

Brittany and Tommy are just adorable and we had a blast in almost Oklahoma for their engagement session at Willowood Ranch.  Brittany is a California girl and she loved that this Texas ranch had some soft rolling hills that reminded her of home.  It was hot but we had  blast exploring the ranch and doing a little off-roading in my SUV to get to some perfect spots!  I may have picked a few to many to share today but I don’t care – I couldn’t narrow it down any further!  These two met at TCU their freshmen year and next year in March they will be husband and wife.  Here is their proposal story:

 

“As my family lives in California, and his family is in Texas & Alabama we’ve always done Christmas apart to be with each of our families. This year was no different. Tommy dropped me off at the airport and I flew out to California a few days before Christmas. He was off to see his family for the holidays…or so I thought! The next day, while I was spending time with my sister last minute shopping for gifts, Tommy was taking an early flight out to California with an important carry on item. One airport fire, two hour security lines, and a missed layover later, he finally landed in Orange County where my brother in law secretly picked him up. Meanwhile my sister, my best friend and I met for lunch at a restaurant at the Montage Hotel overlooking Laguna Beach to catch up and enjoy the day off before the family functions began the following days. While we enjoyed some frose and lunch with a view catching up, Tommy and my brother in law were down on the beach setting up for the big surprise. After being told there was a free wine tasting for guests and patrons of the hotel down on the beach, we got up from our table and headed down towards the beach for free wine. As we approached the stairs to go down to the beach, I overlooked the cliff and saw a heart outlined in sand with dozens of rose petals and candles, and letters spelling out “Marry Me” and a man that looked just like Tommy. I looked back at my sister and best friend to ask in shock if that was Tommy, sure enough they were filming me on their phones and confirmed it was him and to ‘go get him!” Tommy brought me to the middle of the heart in the sand, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! The celebrations commenced with joy on a little blanket in the sand with champagne and the waves crashing into the sunset. A limo then picked us up and took us to dinner over Dana Point Harbor. I was truly surprised and beyond excited to spend forever together! He did SO well!”

 

Tommy is a great guy and I can not wait to hang out with them again!

-Tracy

 

Sara & Brock – Engagement Session at Botanic Gardens & Art MuseumsFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

Brock and Sara have known one another a long time, they met in high school youth group but never really hung out.  Later though as they both choose University of Texas at Austin for college they were reconnected at one of Brock’s fraternity parties.  He asked her to the Texas – Oklahoma game sophomore year and now they have been dating 7 years!  They were engaged on their 7th anniversary, here is their proposal story:

“It was our 7 year anniversary and Brock told me we were going to get drinks and then go to dinner. So we were all dressed up and we show up and what I discovered was an apartment complex, and he said we were getting drinks on the roof. When we get to the top, he had pictures of us throughout the years lined up on the railing, and an aisle of candles with a sign at the end that said Brock and Sara. We were on top of South Side lofts, so we had a perfect view of the Dallas skyline, and he hired a photographer to take pictures while he was talking. Once he proposed our families popped out from hiding behind the side of the building!”

 

Their wedding next year at the Omni in Dallas with Meredith Commender of Significant Events is going to be amazing and I can’t wait!  This weekend 1 year to the day before they say I Do my team will be photographing their engagement party!

-Tracy

 


Katherine & Ben – Engagement Portraits at Fort Worth Trinity TrailsFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

Katherine and Ben are awesome – I mean look at this killer dress and tux they wore for their engagement session!  I love these two and for them it is the year for weddings – all of their friends are getting married and soon enough it will be there turn!  Their adventures as wedding guests have taken them to 5 states but they will be kicking of 2019 with their own wedding here in Fort Worth!  I love how these two met, here is their beginning story in Katherine’s own words:

“Ben and I met in Fort Worth, TX in December of 2014. His sister, who is one of my childhood friends, and his mom, were trying to set us up. Ben had just moved back home from San Antonio, where he had been working and living for 2+ years. Coincidentally, he bought a house on the street behind where I bought my house six months before, and the proximity sparked the initial set up by his mom and sister. We kept in touch but both continued seeing other people and enjoying being newly single in Fort Worth. We started seeing more of each other once he was moved in to his house around March, and the more we saw of each other, the more we realized we didn’t want to see anyone else. Fast forward to June and we decided to officially “DTR”! It will be three years this June 2018. ”

I am so looking forward to their wedding in January!  Thanks guys for hanging out with me, braving bugs and waterfalls and for being so incredibly perfect in front of the camera!

-Tracy

 

 

 

 

Hayley & David – Engagement Photos at Winspear Opera House & Highland ParkDallas, Texas

Engagement

Hayley and David will be getting married later this summer at White Sparrow Barn and I can’t wait for their elegant wedding!  These two are precious together!  They met at the University of Oklahoma 7 years ago and have built a strong relationship with each other and their families.  Family is important to these two – Hayley’s Dad came to our consultation a few weeks ago and I can not wait to see him react to his daughter in her wedding gown!  Dad might cry, I might cry and even David might cry when it’s his turn to see his bride!  I love that David knows family matters to his bride – so much so that he planned the perfect proposal.  Here is their engagement story in Hayley’s own words:

“David and I love wine (trader joes $2.00 bottles are at the top of the list). Because we both know absolutely nothing about wine we had been talking about going to a local winery for a weekend trip. Since Davids work schedule is crazy he suggested we just go to one local and see if we like it before spending the money to go somewhere like Napa.

Off we went, or so I thought to a vineyard in Athens, Texas.

My parents have a lake house at Cedar Creek Lake, 30-minutes away from Athens. When we pulled off towards the lake from the highway I did not really think anything of it. I was too busy researching wine information so we did not look silly at the tasting.

Then we pulled into my parents gate.. And I knew he was being weird but again, I did not know why.

As we approached the driveway and got out I saw flower petals scattered towards the entry of the house. With the help of my sweet family he had transformed the front of the house into a floral heaven. There, underneath an arch way, David dropped down on one knee and proposed.

Of course I said YES!

Once I said yes, my family jumped out and surprised me. We took lots of pics but, something was missing.. His family! When I asked he told me they were at the restaurant waiting for us.

Little did I know they were with all of our closest family and friends setting us a huge surprise engagement party.

It was PERFECT.”

I have a feeling that the perfect proposal is going to lead to the perfect wedding day and I am truly honored to be apart and can’t wait to capture all the laughter, tears, joy and love these two have.

 

-Tracy


 

 

 

 

 

Olivia & Bobby – Engagement Photos at Fort Worth Stockyards & Sundance SquareFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

Last week I finally got to meet Olivia & Bobby and I just adored getting to know this laid back couple.  These two may be from different states but life brought them to DFW and then they were perfectly thrown together one night in Dallas:

“We first met in January of 2016 at a bar in Dallas. We were both out with a few of our own friends, and we all ended up meeting and joining together for the rest of the night. Bobby and I had exchanged phone numbers and had texted a few times for the next couple of weeks. I agreed to meet up with him for a drink in February and we ended up having such a fun night and got along really well. We have been together ever since!”

I love that even though neither of them lived in Dallas they met and fell in love there and are now planning their future and the wedding day here in Fort Worth.  Bobby had a great proposal for his favorite girl in the world.  I love how Olivia tells it:

“Bobby and I went up to Indiana to visit my family and go to our lakehouse for his birthday in July. That Friday, we were going on a cocktail cruise around the lake with my family and grandparents and stopped at an island on the lake because my mom had told us she wanted to take family pictures. We got out of the boat and started taking pictures, then Bobby started telling a story and proposed! There were confetti canons, signs, bells, and champagne all hidden on the boat and we celebrated the rest of the way home. The next day, all of my cousins and aunts and uncles came up to the lake and we had an engagement party with the whole family.”

Congrats you two and can’t wait for your fall wedding next year!

-Tracy

 

Amy & Casey – Engagement Portraits at Trinity Park & StockyardsFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

Amy & Casey are getting married next winter and I was so excited to hang out with these two before Thanksgiving.  They brought along their incredibly well behaved doggie – Leroy – and we had fun at Trinity park and the Fort Worth Stockyards.

These two both attended Texas Christian University and met while studying abroad in Spain.  They learned to speak Spanish, became friends and within months of being back in the United States they found themselves together.  Their friendship is apparent when you see them together, they have an honesty about them and are so comfortable in each others arms.  Their smiles, laughter and the super adorable Leroy made this engagement session so much fun!

I can’t believe I have to wait a year to photograph Amy & Casey again – it will be worth the wait though!  Congrats you two!

Ashley & Josh – Engagement Portraits at Fort Worth ParkFort Worth, Texas

Engagement

Ashley and Josh met at a wedding and were flung together and now we are approaching their own wedding day this summer!  Josh is a sweetheart and I love how he proposed to Ashley, here is their proposal story in her own words:

Josh is a big hunter. So he had been telling me for a few weeks that he was buying a new boat. I was supportive but definitely not interested in helping pick one out. I only became interested when he told me that there was nowhere to store it, so I would have to park my car outside of the garage so it could stay in there. I agreed, but wasn’t excited. When I got home that day, I couldn’t open the garage door. I went through the front door and he was so excited to show me the boat. When we got to the garage, there was not a “real” boat, but there was a tiny toy boat with a ring on it. When I turned around, he was on one knee. I quickly realized all of those trips to “look at boats” were trips to the jeweler with my sister in laws to pick the perfect ring.

These two love a laid back life with a side of adventure.  For their engagement session we selected gorgeous nature locations.  I love what Ashley shared with me about how they like to spend time together:

We love to travel. We have been to Hawaii, Florida and New Mexico together in the past year. We love spending time with our families and being outdoors. One of our favorite things is sitting on the patio having drinks in the cool weather.

Sign me up for drinks on the patio – especially a cup of hot coffee on a cool day!  I can’t wait for their wedding at their home church in Aledo and McDavid Studio at Bass hall and if they find a way to incorporate a boat!  It would make a great grooms cake!!

-Tracy