I’m Stephanie, a wedding + lifestyle photographer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Warrenton, Virginia. Whether I’m by the mountains of Colorado or Virginia, my soul feels at home, surrounded by rural living and the raw beauty of nature. I genuinely love what I do, and feel so passionate to share the enthusiasm and joy of these celebrations with you!

DOCUMENTING LOVE'S UNSCRIPTED CHAPTERS FROM COUPLES & FAMILIES IN COLORADO + VIRGINIA

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April 11, 2017

Adam & Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

I couldn’t believe our luck! While I was driving out to Manassas, a rainstorm popped up out of nowhere and made me question whether or not this was going to work out. Fortunately, the storm passed, and we ended up with beautiful diffused light during our time together! 🙂 Even after the session, we were driving off, after saying our goodbyes, when another rain cloud popped up! So glad the weather worked in our favor!!

I had the best time getting to know these two during their session. Adam and Laura currently reside in Memphis and love it there! After chatting with them earlier this year about visiting Memphis, I might have to make a trip out there in the near future. Although, we just raved about food the entire time. 😉 Haha! Vacationing is all about the adventuring and food, right? I also loved chatting with Adam about his side gig, skydiving. I don’t ever envision myself doing that, but my brother is a huge fan of jumping out of planes. Laura said that she never thought she would skydive, but she did it with Adam with no regret… So brave!! Together, Adam and Laura are fun and sweet! You can see in the photographs below how they make each other smile and laugh. 🙂  I love that! Cannot wait to get them in front of my camera again this year!!

Adam and Laura’s Love Story

How They Met
from Laura’s Perspective

Adam and I met in 2011 through a mutual friend. I had gone to visit some friends at my alma mater, Christopher Newport University, for the weekend and a sorority sister of mine was also visiting and staying with Adam, one of her buddies from high school, who was stationed in Virginia Beach at the time. My friends and I met up with our sorority sister at a football game to which she had dragged Adam — not so willingly. Adam and I chatted briefly at the game and then we split ways to all go get ready for the night’s festivities. I remember telling the friend that I was staying with that something was going to happen with Adam that night. I just knew it. Our mutual friend conned Adam into driving back to his apartment in Virginia Beach to get ready, then driving all the way back to CNU to pick my friend and me up, which anyone who has ever been through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel can tell you is not a fun or easy drive. We all headed out to one of our favorite bars from our college days where Adam and I spent the whole night talking and dancing (mostly on my end – Adam is not a huge fan of dancing). We exchanged numbers and I headed home to Northern Virginia the next day. Adam and I talked throughout the week and made plans for him to come up North for a Brad Paisley concert that following weekend – our first official date! We had a blast and continued to visit each other for the next couple months until Adam left for a deployment and we decided to take some time apart. We reconnected about six months later and have been together ever since!

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

How He Proposed
from Adam’s Perspective

I had been thinking about how to propose to Laura for a while. I went on a trip to Disney World with some work friends last May and found an ornament with one of her favorite Disney characters while there. I knew I had to get it and it would later come in handy.

Fast forward to November, Laura’s family came to visit us in Tennessee for Thanksgiving last year and while they were here, I asked her parents if they would mind if I asked Laura to marry me. I spent the next few weeks making up excuses that I was helping my former boss get ready for her move out of the country, but we were really looking for rings. Once I found the right ring, I had it shipped to Laura’s parents’ house so she wouldn’t find it in our house. For Christmas, Laura flew to Virginia early and I drove there closer to the holiday since I had to work. I spent the whole 13-hour drive trying to come up with ways to propose and searching online for ideas, but couldn’t find anything that really fit my style. I knew I wanted to use riddles and clues but wasn’t quite sure where to go from there. I ended up taking a combination of ideas that I found, and since I like to be difficult, I decided to do a scavenger hunt along with the clues.

On Christmas Day, Laura’s family decided to go to church in the morning, followed by brunch, so we ended up not opening presents until later in the afternoon. By that point, I still hadn’t come up with the riddles I wanted to use, so I spent most of the morning brainstorming. When we got back from brunch, I convinced Laura to take our dogs for a walk with her dad, while her mom and sister helped me prepare everything. When they got back from the walk, we opened presents. Laura’s last gift to open was the first clue, which was wrapped in one present after the other. The clues took her all around the house from the basement to different bedrooms and even the fireplace. She really struggled with a lot of them and had to get her family to help, even though I hadn’t told them the answers either. The final clue was on the tree in the ornament I had bought at Disney months earlier. The clue read: “what joins two people together, but only touches one?” Yet again, she couldn’t figure out the clue. She kept looking at everyone but me, trying to get help to figure it out. All the while, I was standing behind her with the ring in my hand. When she finally looked at me, I asked and she said, “are you sure?” which is definitely not what I expected to hear. Eventually, she said “yes” and now she’s stuck with me!

THANK YOU, Adam and Laura, for coming out to Manassas for your engagement session. 🙂 I loved getting to know you both and cannot wait to see you again in the fall!! Your wedding day will be here before we know it! Also, thanks to Laura’s parents for coming out and helping with the dogs!

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

Adam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement PhotographerAdam and Laura | Manassas, Virginia Engagement Photographer

CONGRATS!!!! <3

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