When Jocelyn and I first spoke less than a week after she got engaged, she confided that she and her fiance, Tom, hadn’t actually been looking for engagement photographers or wedding photographers for their casual, bbq-ish wedding.  Somehow, though, fate led her to us; she by chance came across our photography website and really liked the composition of my wedding & engagement photography.

“I’m interested in an engagement photo shoot.  I’m a super-amateur photographer, and the kinds of things you do in your photography are things that I’m attempting to do.  I definitely appreciate the art that you put into your photography, which is more important to me than paying someone to just take a picture,” she said.

At the end of our call, she said she needed to speak with Tom, and that she’d get back to me in 2-3 weeks if they wanted to move forward.  So I admit I was surprised when she she e-mailed just two days later.

“I’ve talked things over with Tom, and he’s leaving all the decisions up to me.  I really love your photography, and we’re not doing flowers or photography or anything fancy at our [wedding] reception, so I’m fine with a little splurge [for engagement photography].”

5 1/2 weeks later, Jocelyn & Tom drove up from Howard County, MD to our Germantown-Clarksburg photography studio for their engagement photography planning meeting, when we got to meet in person before the engagement session and get to know each other a bit.  They’d met 1.5 years ago through OK Cupid, an online dating site.  And they are cooking FIENDS!  Though mostly through Tom’s urging, they love to cook together.  They hand made ravioli, and they told me that lamb vindaloo was in the slow cooker at that moment.  And on an early date, Tom made crème brulêe for them, and Jocelyn was super-impressed.   (What girl wouldn’t be?  WOW!)  And so I had to ask.  Might they like to somehow incorporate cooking into their engagement photography session?  And they immediately answered YES! 

They wanted to do their engagement session at Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard County, MD’s Ellicott City, where they regularly enjoy walking and hiking.  Tom volunteered to make/bring crème brulêes for all of us so we’d have a little picnic.  (That was awfully sweet of him to include Idrissa and me!) The rainy weather we’ve been having lately foiled our plans more than once, but finally, we had a beautiful day.  Tom had said at our planning meeting that he LOVES CHEESY.  (Hey, that’s my kind of couple!!!)  So they had a ton of fun, and we were just as entertained photographing them.  What a fun couple, made for each other!  Congratulations to Tom & Jocelyn, who are ENGAGED!

Are you engaged and searching for an artsy photographer for your engagement photography session?