Oh my!  Insert all of the heart eyes and confetti emojis because I am crazy excited to share today’s blog!!  Hannah + Tristan are one of my 2016 wedding couples and beautiful is an understatement when describing their engagement session.

Hannah is a student at Ferrum college and Tristan is in the army!  I first met Hannah one weekend in October when she was home for college.  She, her mother, and I planned to meet for cocktails at Relish to discuss wedding photography details before they chose the wedding photographer.  From the moment that Hannah and I started talking, I just knew that she was the epitome of an AHP bride!  She was so joyful, so genuine, and so in love! You can imagine the smile that spread wide across my face when I received the email stating that they were excited to officially book me for her August wedding!!

Hannah is busy with her senior year of college and Tristan is stationed in Hawaii so their time together is limited and cherished when available.  We planned their engagement session for early January while they were both home for the holidays.  We decided to shoot their session at Hull Springs Farm in Montross Virginia, the same location that they will be saying their vows.  The property is gorgeous and that afternoon’s lighting was a dream!!

I love getting to know my couples through their engagement session.  It’s such a wonderful time for them to reconnect in the midst of wedding planning!  Hannah + Tristan were such a joy to work with that day.  The connection that the two share is remarkable.  I would begin to guide them into a pose and they would execute it perfectly with more love and happiness than I ever could have hoped for. 

We spent our time together laughing and talking and capturing some amazing shots.  We discussed their love story, how Tristan proposed  before his deployment to South Korea, and how he had the entire proposal recorded by a videographer in the family.  We talked about their upcoming wedding and how they would begin the next chapter of their life as husband and wife in Hawaii where Tristan is stationed.  I got to know this couple and the love that they share and it made me even more excited to be a part of their wedding day!

This entire engagement shoot was one gorgeous shot after another!  Midway through the session, I paused for a few shots of Hannah’s beautiful engagement ring…  These ring shots were some of my favorites ever, but they also tugged on my heart strings more than any other ring shot before.  Hannah’s father passed away and she regularly wears his anchor charm around her neck and close to her heart.  We incorporated the anchor into a few of the ring shots and I have to say, they turned out beautiful enough to bring a tear to my eye.

It is an honor to be a photographer and capture such special moments in my client’s lives, but it is even more rewarding to capture an image that sings a song so beautiful that it could bring chills to your skin….  These may be just a ring shot to many viewers… But to me, its an engagement ring symbolizing love and grace leading into a new life chapter as a wife, paired with a token of an anchor of unconditional love from a father taken too soon, and the two items being combined together in the heart of one very special bride to be.

I am so exceptionally happy to welcome Hannah and Tristan as one of my 2016 couples.  I can not wait for their beautiful August wedding!  I am so lucky to document their special day and the start of their love story as Mr and Mrs.  If these gorgeous shots are any indication of their wedding day photos, y’all mark your calendars for the blog after the wedding day!!!  My {many} favorites from their engagement session are below!!