It had been years since I visited Harpers Ferry, but when Eddie and Rachel mentioned how they wanted engagement portraits there, I could not have said yes fast enough! Granted, the last time I visited was when I was a kid, but I remember the spectacular mountain and water views! I knew I was in for a dreamy session, especially with Eddie and Rachel’s bubbly, loving and joyful personalities! And they did not disappoint! 🙂 From the initial click of the shutter, their smiles and laughs were effortless as if they had done this before. This only means that their wedding day is going to be filled with genuine moments and I cannot WAIT. I had the BEST time getting to know these two throughout our time together and can hardly wait for September!!!
On a side note … Don’t they look AMAZING in their suit and dress?! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holy moly!
Eddie & Rachel’s Love Story
How Eddie and Rachel Met
from Rachel’s perspective
Eddie and I met at the very end of my freshman year of undergrad at Longwood University. I was living in an all girls dorm and would visit my sister, whom I had followed to Longwood. She happened to live in a townhouse across the street from a group of handsome wrestlers and lacrosse players. One Thursday evening, two of them invited my sister’s roommate and me over for games. We went, despite early Friday classes. We had been playing for about an hour or so when this guy came down the stairs wearing sweatpants and glasses. He was so cute, my heart instantly melted! He got a drink of water from the fridge and went back upstairs without saying a word. His roommates told us that he was up there studying for some test. And then, I thought, what a nerd. That Friday, we went back to their townhouse for more games, and this time he was there! We flirted all night, and got to know each other better over the next month and a half until the semester was over. I found out that the man that I thought was handsome and nerdy was a dedicated student and hard worker with lofty goals, and at the same time was so much fun to be around. His blue eyes and infectious laughter were irresistible. His parents lived a little over an hour from mine and when he told me that he wanted to visit, I started making plans for a fun day together at Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is a beautiful little historic town near my parents’ house, where Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia meet, and the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers converge. On May 12, 2010, Eddie visited me at home for the first time. We hiked up the mountain opposite the town, and at the very top of the mountain, overlooking the perfectly romantic view of the town, the river, and the mountains, he asked me to be his girlfriend. And I said yes!
How Eddie Proposed to Rachel
from Eddie’s perspective
August 26, 2016 was the big day when I got down on one knee and asked Rachel to marry me. This day took years of planning to make it a reality. Rachel is a gorgeous, intelligent, funny, and all around perfect person so it only took few years into our relationship for me to know for sure that Rachel is “THE ONE” for me. It was not easy when Rachel and I lived states away while we both finished school, but it allowed me to use my spare time to research and look at engagement rings without her finding out. After finishing graduate school and moving back to the same state I felt ready to make my move. I set up a dinner date with Rachel’s parents to ask permission for her hand in marriage. With their blessing, I found the jeweler who made her parent’s diamond ring years before and had them custom make the perfect ring for Rachel. Next took the planning of how to propose. To make this special for us I decided to take Rachel to the place where I asked her to first start dating me, on top of a mountain at Harper’s Ferry. At this point I assumed Rachel had begun to anticipate a proposal coming soon so I decided to have Rachel’s sister plan a double date with us to climb the mountain at Harper’s Ferry then cancel on us last minute so it would just be Rachel and I. This worked! I convinced Rachel to go on the hike anyway just her and I. I packed a hiking back that included the engagement ring and a small bundle of short cut roses. It was a hot, beautiful sunny day. We hiked for about 20-30 minutes to reach the peak. Along the way Rachel had insisted to try and carry the hiking pack and smacked the back of the bag a few times saying, “that must be heavy”, while I nervously hoped she wouldn’t feel the ring box. Once at the peak I took Rachel to the edge of the high cliffside that over looked the town of Harper’s Ferry and the beautiful rivers next to it that converge into one. I put my back to the cliff side and told her I had a surprise for her, reached in my back and gave her the roses, which here miraculously still intact after the bag had be smacked so many times to test it’s weight. She was thrilled. I said, “I have another surprise for you”. I said a small speech about happy I’ve been the past 6 years with her and how I would love for her to spend the rest of our lives together, then reached in my bag, pulled out the engagement ring, got down on one knee and asked Rachel to marry me. She said, “YES!!”
Thank you, Eddie and Rachel, for showing me around Harpers Ferry! I’m still in awe how beautiful the session was! <3 You both have me so excited for your wedding day this fall!!! Enjoy the preview from our time together and CONGRATS on your engagement!!! XOXO!
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