I had met Curtis and Emily back in March 2017 before Curtis deployed. After celebrating Veteran’s Day this past weekend, it was appropriate we celebrated with these engagement portraits!!!! Curtis, thank you so much for your service!!!! But honestly, we weren’t sure this session was going to happen last Friday. We had planned to meet in Old Town Alexandria for months since timing with work can be a bit tricky. Leading up to the day of the session forecasted a 90% chance of rain! That wasn’t reassuring at all. We kept an eye on this and hoped for the weather to change its mind, but we had to improvise! Since they came in from out of town, we decided to make a sunrise session happen. 🙂 They woke up at 3:45 a.m. to get ready and we met on a very chilly, rainy morning. Although, fortunately for us, you cannot really tell how chilly or rainy it was when we were taking photos! Which reminds me of their deployment portraits back in 2017 when it was SUPER windy and FREEZING!!! These two know how to zone in with the mindset of 80-degree beach weather in the blistering cold. HA! Thank goodness, I don’t think we will experience this kind of cold weather on their wedding day in August! 😉

When we were talking about their engagement portraits, Old Town Alexandria fit in so perfectly with their nautical theme!!! After all, they are getting hitched in Virginia Beach! 🙂 We focused our attention near the water, but I loved that we snuck in some portraits with the beautiful fall trees and the Old Town atmosphere. Emily’s dress worked so well with the backdrops no matter where we ventured. As we walked around, I quickly realized how comfortable these two were in front of the camera, and I LOVED that!!! They definitely don’t take life too seriously as you’ll see a lot of smiles and laughs in these portraits below. 🙂 Anddddd possibly a blue steel moment by Curtis. 😉 HAHA! I cannot wait to photograph their joy and love again next summer surrounded by family and friends!

Curtis & Emily’s Love Story

How Curtis and Emily Met

from Emily’s point of view

I was home for Christmas break and out with my friend Rachel (who is a bridesmaid in the wedding) and she suggested I needed a boyfriend haha! So we downloaded OkCupid and started our search for a new man for me. Curtis’s profile caught my eye. We were 80% compatible and he just seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I messaged him and we started talking on the app non-stop! I remember my sister asking who I was texting so much and I just said I met a new guy and he seems really great. Two weeks of talking on the app and he FINALLY asked for my number haha. He did not waste any time asking me out for our first date. We met up at the cheesecake factory and of course, I was running late because I got lost and ran into the restaurant like a spaz and all I could think is this guy is going to think I’m nuts! The moment he saw me he had the biggest smile on his face, it was so sweet. Dinner went so well that I knew I wanted to spend more time with him, so I suggested hot chocolate down at the oceanfront. He asked if we could ride in the same car and I must have trusted him because I actually said yes, which I never do haha. The first thing he says jokingly to me is you can’t touch the radio until you are officially my girlfriend, so naturally I started playing with his radio and said well you’re stuck with me now haha. We still laugh about that moment to this day. Once we got to Starbucks on the oceanfront we realized it was closed and had to come up with a quick plan B. We decided to drive through the boardwalk and go through the lights that were still up from Christmas time. We held hands and listened to Christmas music while looking at all the lights, it was very sweet. We do this every holiday season now! Then we decided to get out of the car and sit on the beach in January. WHAT?! haha We sat and talked for a really long time and then we had our very first kiss! This first date was one for the books. It could not have gone better and I ended up with the perfect guy for me!

How Curtis Proposed to Emily

from Curtis’s point of view

I asked Emily’s cousin Stephanie to be in on the proposal a month prior to asking. backstory Emily and her cousin were going to Nashville to have a girls week and enjoy some country music with a good time. emily has this key sense of when people will do things and somehow I distracted her from knowing I was gonna propose. i woke up at 3:15am to get in my car, bags packed the night before. To drive to Norfolk, VA airport. I got through security having the ring securely in my pocket touching it at all times. I got my ticket and sat waiting on the plane to arrive. So about a half hour, we were notified of the delay. So I looked through my app seeing all these plans didn’t arrive in Nashville till 7 pm I was getting worried. Soi went through and found that there was a plan leaving Norfolk to Washington d.c and then to Nashville, TN at 250pm. I got so lucky because the plans were going to land super late and my goal was to propose on the rooftop of a restaurant overlooking the city during the sunset. So I landed in Nashville and it was the coolest experience I have ever seen and I was only at the airport. I got my lyft and then went to my hotel which was about 10 min away. It was a beautiful hotel and when I checked in I went to the top floor next to the sweet and I got a beautiful view of the Nashville skyline. At this time it was about 330-4 and I called my mom and dad excited and full of joy! after I got done talking to me and dad giving me some words of wisdom, I started to prepare the room for Emily after I proposed to her. Soi diligently took red and purple rose peddles layed them out from the door making a pathway to the bed where it was a heart and had the numbers 8.10 of when we got engaged. After this I changed and got ready for the biggest move of my life. I coordinated with Stephanie where they were and what time they would arrive. So I get downtown Nashville to a bar called L.A Jackson and the nervousness is really kicking in! So the girls get up to the restaurant and Stephanie texts me saying its too crowded and Emily does not like major public forms of affection. so a proposal is out the question we needed a new place to find! So Stephanie’s quick thinking said there was a mural nearby and to meet them there. I was in a suit and tie walking to the mural about 1000 feet away. I peaked over this building and their Emily was in her dress and heels looking absolutely gorgeous. I waited till she got in front of the wings took about one or two pictures then I took a deep breath with my heart pounding, went and walked to her. She told me “what the F are you doing here” haha I laughed and took her hand. Told her how much I love her and how much I adore her and would be honored to take her hand in marriage, asked her Emily Jean Lloyd will you marry me? She saw the ring, gasped, said yes and we had a small group of people clap for us with happiness. And all was right in the world. I got engaged to the future Mrs. Pavlik and couldn’t be any happier! Her tears and her hug told me she has been waiting for this for a long time and the kiss told me shes the happiest woman in the world! And I was the happiest man in the world.

Thank you, Curtis and Emily, for being flexible around the inclement weather and for waking up SUPER early to make this session happen before the Holidays!!! Enjoy some of my favorites from our time together. 🙂 I cannot wait for your wedding next summer!!! XOXO! 

Congratulations!!!