Josh, Amanda and I met at the beautiful Winery at Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia for their engagement portraits a couple weeks ago where we were fortunate to catch some fall colors in the backdrop. 🙂 Fall is coming to a close and I had many couples who wanted those beautiful fall yellows and oranges in their photos, but with my October schedule I had to resort to booking many portrait sessions in November. I’m so glad that fall has hung around longer than usual with even green trees! I have to admit that it has been a little strange driving around Warrenton and seeing Christmas wreaths hung next to orange trees. My November season is officially confused at this point! Haha! I cannot complain at all because I love the temperatures my couples and I have been lucky to run around in instead of freezing our fingers off. I do have to give props to Josh who wore a sweater in 70+ degrees for this session! It wouldn’t make sense to dress for 70 degree weather for fall portraits, so he braved the heat! Kudos!
I thoroughly enjoyed our time together running around the Winery at Bull Run’s ruins and the battlefield’s bridge/fields! They are so enthusiastic and fun together. 🙂 In between locations, we got stuck in a little traffic (go figure Northern Virginia!) so as soon as we pulled up to the field I wanted to use for photos, I calmly explained that we need to pick up our pace to the tall grass before the sun set behind the tree line. Josh basically heard, “RUNNN”, and that is exactly what he did! Haha! Because of their fun and positive energy, we were able to get some romantic and sweet photos with the dreamy glowy light I was after! They are fun, genuine, thoughtful and as sweet as can be and I hope you can see that in these photos! 🙂 So thankful for our time together already and cannot wait for their big day next year!
JOSH & AMANDA’S LOVE STORY
How Josh and Amanda Met
from Josh’s perspective
While we officially met each other in 2008, our bond began in the summer of 2009. I had recently graduated from college and was working as a pool supervisor part time while I figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Amanda was working as a lifeguard at the pool I was working at. She was preparing for her first year of college to begin in the fall.
As with many of the employees I supervised, I liked to mentor and offer advice for those who are about to embark on similar life experiences. I tried to convince Amanda not to go to college while still being together with her then boyfriend, not for selfish reasons, but having done the same thing myself, I knew it wouldn’t work out. I tried to convince her that college was about finding out who you are, and that relationships you take with you only prevent you from fully experiencing that journey and they rarely work out.
Flash forward another year, to the summer of 2010. I hadn’t spoken to or heard from Amanda, except for a random ‘out of the blue’ Facebook message where she checked in to let me know how her first year of school had gone, and that ‘I was right.’ She finally ended the relationship that I told her not to take to school with her. We exchanged a few words on where we were in life and that was that.
A few months later, I was teaching a lifeguard training class at the pool she was working at that summer. I turned on the flirty-flirty. We both then left on separate vacations, but were never separate from our phones the whole time and were constantly talking to each other and ignoring our fellow vacationers.
After the long buildup of being in constant contact in different parts of the country for over a week, when we were both back in town, we finally started dating and the adventure began!
How Josh Proposed
from Amanda’s perspective
My day started off just like any other. I teach first grade so I went to work like a normal Monday morning. Halfway through my reading lesson I see Josh and his friend standing at my door, so I go to the door and ask them what their doing at school and he goes I brought you lunch holding up Chick Fila. So I tell them lunch isn’t for twenty minutes go sit at the table and don’t bother my class. I finish my lesson and get my kids ready for lunch. Then Josh says boys and girls do you want to give Miss Scaplehorn a surprise? They say yes and he has me stand across the room, and has my class turn around and face the wall then gives each of them a piece of paper. At this point i was starting to think is this really happening. Then he said on three everyone turn around and my class each had a letter spelling out “will you be our Mrs. Schmidt?”. By the time I read the sign Josh was down on one knee behind me. Finally one of my kids goes what just happened? And Josh said I just asked her to marry me. Then my class started jumping up and down and screaming. It was a day to remember for all of us.
Thank you Josh, Amanda and to your friend for such a fun time!!! I loved every minute and cannot WAIT for your wedding day next year! It will be here before we know it! 🙂 AH! Enjoy some of my favorites!! XOXO!
Thank you again for a great time!! Looking forward to seeing you again in the near future! xoxo!
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