Do you all know what today is? No? I’ll tell you. The love story you are about to read is one of the sweetest I have ever read and had the pleasure of sharing. It easily goes down as one of my all-time favorites. The love story and gorgeous Naval Academy engagement session come to us today by the one, the only, the completely fabulous Natalie Franke Photography. I love this girl to pieces. We’ve never met in person (yet) but I know from our emails and tweets that we would be the absolute best of friends. And she is one amazing photographer. Keep reading and seeing below! :)

Sarah and Walter first met at the Naval Academy Ring Dance in 2008. All of the guys and their dates had rented a house out on the eastern shore for the weekend, and Sarah was actually the date of one of Walter’s friends!! But it was Sarah and Walter who hit it off that night :)

They tried so hard to keep in touch over the summer, but due to military summer trainings and Sarah’s busy schedule, they never got to spend the time together they hoped for. Then, one weekend in September, Towson played Navy in football, and Sarah and Walter finally got their chance. They were completely inseparable after that.

One of Sarah’s favorite memories of their relationship so far was when Walter took her to New York City for her birthday. He took her out to dinner at The River Café, a gorgeous restaurant located on the water, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. They were seated by a window with views of the downtown Manhattan skyline. The view was exquisite and completely swoon-worthy. It didn’t hurt that the restaurant had top-notch food as well! Can I go? It sounds dreamy. Sarah says that she felt like a princess that weekend. It really touched her that Walter worked so hard to plan such an incredible weekend for her.

Sometime later…

Walter originally had plans to propose on January 7th but Sarah had grown suspicious. And when a friend told Walter that she was on to him, he immediately changed his plans in order to surprise her.

He had just returned from a Navy deployment, smack in the middle of Sarah’s final exam period for law school. Tired and stressed, Sarah complained that they hardly had any time to see each other. So when she met him in Florida after her exam to attend his best friend’s wedding with him, Walter proposed a date night. It was December 15th and Sarah thought nothing of it other than the two of them finally getting to spend time together. He took her to an amazing ocean-front steakhouse for dinner. On their walk home, he suggested they walk down by the water. Though it was windy, Sarah found it hard to say no because it was so warm out.

They walked out onto the sand and he pulled her into a bear hug, resting his chin on top of her head, not hard given their one foot height difference. I know that hug well. I’m a foot shorter (and then some) than my guy. Standing in their embrace, they looked out at the ocean and watched the waves for a little while. When they turned to leave, Sarah tripped and Walter grabbed her hands to steady her. But then didn’t let go.

He asked her if she loved him, which she thought was a silly question, of course she loved him. Then he gave her a long kiss. When he drew back he had something in his hand. Sarah said everything went into slow motion after that as Walter got down on one knee before her. She started crying like crazy and after she told him yes, Walter informed her that he’d already contacted her favorite photographer (Natalie Franke) to take their engagement photos, which brought a whole new round of tears. And if that wasn’t enough, he told her that he hadn’t been visiting his dad the previous weekend like he’d said. He’d driven three hours to ask her Dad’s permission in person, which meant the absolute world to her. I can’t help it. I’m completely swooning over here.

{Behind the Lens with Natalie Franke} I aim to capture genuine happiness and love in my photographs. Capturing the connection that two people share, documenting the spark that exists between two soul mates, is my goal with every engagement session! I love to setup my couple in a beautiful location before stepping away to capture the scene. I leave them with a sweet anecdote or I ask them to think about a special memory, while quietly backing away. It only takes a couple of moments before they are laughing candidly, smiling at one another, and blissfully unaware of my camera off in the distance.

Sarah and Walter’s session was absolutely amazing! We lucked out with gorgeous temperatures on a January afternoon as we walked around the United States Naval Academy campus, where Walter was once a midshipmen, and made our way downtown to the little historic streets of Annapolis. It was a perfect day for a truly amazing couple!

Sigh. Swoon. I’m in love. It’s true. Thank you, Sarah and Walter, for sharing your love story with all of us! You two are just too cute for words and I wish you both nothing but the absolute best in love and in life in the years ahead. And a very special thank you to Natalie, who I will meet one day very soon!!!, for working so hard to capture love with her camera and share it with all of us today. xoxo

P.S. Isn’t Sarah’s anchor shirt adorable?! It’s from Anthropologie. I know, because I have it too! :) Her red coat is pretty fab also, but I don’t know where that’s from – ha!