A little over two weeks ago Jason reached out to me about surprising his girlfriend by proposing at the Biltmore Gardens in Asheville, NC. These two have had quite a beautiful love story including the serendipitous way they met, a job transfer to Australia, and finally settling in the South. Jason and I chatted on the phone for almost an hour and after we ended the call I was struck again with how lucky I am to be a photographer. It was so easy to tell how much Jason adores Raphaelle and I couldn’t wait to meet them both in Asheville!
Coordinating was a little difficult due to the fact that, well it was a surprise, but also because we had no idea what the other person looked like and had to communicate via text! I am so impressed with Jason’s stealth texting abilities because Raphaelle had no idea! I decided to make a day trip out of it and drag my husband and 2 year old along for the day. When it was finally time, I darted to the Gardens and waited to “bump into” this couple trying to take a selfie and offer to take it for them (all the credit for that idea goes to Jason!).
Once we finally made contact at the Gardens I tried to nonchalantly follow them, while being your stereotypical photographer taking photos of the beautiful flowers. Finally, the moment arrived. I walked up to them, offered to take their photos and then it was all up to Jason!
Afterwards, I awkwardly walked up to them and introduced myself! Raphaelle swore she had no clue and thought I was just a nice passerby! Whohoo!
Thankfully, they carved out time for us to do some quick engagement photos in the gardens and it was perfection.
And y’all, I have to give major shout out to Jason – this man thought it all out and executed it so well! The only “hiccup” (if you can even call it that!) was that Raphaelle’s mom sent her some really cute nail polish called “Tying the Knottie!” but Jason couldn’t figure out a way to get her to paint her nails using it so she opened it at the beginning of the portrait time. But worry not, Raphaelle’s nailed still looked amazing sans the nail polish!
Jason & Raphaelle – I am so honored to have been there to photograph this special moment for y’all! I hope the rest of your weekend in Asheville was truly magical <3
Leave a Reply