Cherry Blossoms are a huge hit from year to year in the DC area. Many couples dream to have their photos taken with the beautiful pink and white blooms. Although, it is SO hard to predict the peak bloom since they are only around for a few days. I have had to flex my schedule to make this work and I am glad that so far it is going well with the weather. 🙂 With Jake and Kirsten, we had to really squeeze in this session to make it work. Sunday morning was dreamy weather and we were all so excited! After getting home super late from Marc and Caity’s wedding Saturday night, I went straight to bed to get as much sleep as possible before the early morning session. I got up at 5 a.m. and arrived in DC by 6:30 a.m. only to find no where to park and closed roads. I honestly was in panic mode but still had confidence that I would eventually find a place to park. I found out when I was driving around in circles for over two hours in DC that there was a HUGEEEEEE race happening at that time. Wow, I must really be in my own little world if I didn’t even know about this event! Haha! They say about 15,000 runners were at this event … no wonder I couldn’t find one parking spot ANYWHERE! I pulled off on the side of Route 1 along with many other cars who were getting tickets by a policeman for illegal parking. I desperately walked up to the policeman pleading where I can park my car and FINALLY I had an answer. Jake and Kirsten found me there on the side of Route 1 and hopped in my car to make this a team effort. So relieved!!! After parking still in an illegal spot, we were on our way to finally taking their engagement photos! 🙂 We had to battle the harsh lighting at that point since the session was supposed to start at 6:45 a.m. and we didn’t start until 9:15 a.m. and if you could only imagine the crowds at that time … but they made it work! 🙂
Here’s the reality of DC during cherry blossoms. When dealing with a crowd, we try to wait patiently as the crowds pass but sometimes people will linger for photographs in the backdrop not caring about if they are in your shot or not. So I have to work a little Photoshop magic so the focus is 100% on them and the blossoms. At least the session looks like we were the only ones there around the tidal basin. 😉 Yeah right, I wish!!! Haha! Fortunately, I only had to heavily photoshop the crowd out of a few photos. Otherwise, we stood around waiting for everyone to bypass to get the ideal shot and it did the trick! 🙂
Jake and Kirsten were SO incredibly sweet and I could not be happier with how collective they were during the session. Crowds were in every direction you could imagine, yet they stood there as if no one else was around. I am so excited to connect with another JMU couple (GO DUKES!) and cannot wait for their big day this fall!!!
Jake & Kirsten’s Love Story
from Jake’s point of view
The Proposal: It was Memorial Day weekend 2014 in Carova Beach. It was nearing the end of the trip, on Memorial Day itself. The plan was in place. Go on a long walk on the beach pre sunset. Kyle, Kirsten’s younger brother, had agreed to tail us in a big, floppy hat with his high zoom camera to capture the moment. We had been in the sun most of the day, and Kirsten had her heart set on relaxing on the deck with a good book. It was a family-wide effort to convince her to go on a stroll down the beach. She eventually acquiesced, and we were underway.
We walked for about 20 minutes. I peeked over my shoulder to make sure Kyle was in position, he was. We turned to come back down the beach (I thought that would fool her). After just a few steps, I took her hand, spun her for Kyle’s snapshot, and dropped to one knee. Even though I had recited my lines about 50 times, I couldn’t help but get choked up as they spilled out of my mouth. It was mostly a blur, but I do remember that she said yes. Mission accomplished!
How we met: It was the week before classes started at JMU, autumn 2009. We both played club volleyball, and fellow teammates had recruited us to play coed doubles at the university recreational center. We hadn’t interacted much the previous year, so it was essentially like meeting her for the first time. We shared the court together, unknowing that it would lead to sharing our lives to together. We had a great time, and less than a week later we would cross paths again. I was in one of my major courses, Universal Healthcare Systems, in a large auditorium style room. The professor instructed everyone to take a few minutes and meet their classmates. Wouldn’t you know it, there was Kirsten, a few rows below me. We noticed one another and I made my way down to meet her. We chatted and I asked for her number just in case, you know, I needed help with the class… We would sit together every class and usually met for lunch afterward. I showed up for her birthday party on September 1st. Her apartment was incredibly packed, but I was lucky enough to steal her away and wish her Happy Birthday. I left her party after just a little while. She had a thing for me at this point, but being a year younger and a little naïve, there was no way I had a shot. She still gives me hard time to this day; I can’t blame her. Our budding friendship continued to grow over the next month between class and volleyball. I finally worked up the courage to ask her to be my girlfriend on October 1, 2009. The rest is history.
Thank you Jake and Kirsten for toughing through the morning with the crowds and everything in between!!! Enjoy some of my favorites!! xoxo!
So pretty!!!
Love love love love LOVE!
Kirsten, you are gorgeous my friend!!!
Thank you both for a great time in DC!! xoxo!
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