I was head-over-heels for this engagement session the moment I laid eyes on the beautiful, bright, happy photographs from Kelly Ewell Photography! To be honest, I’m still completely in love with them :) A perfectly preppy, Southern couple as happy as this one will have you falling head-over-heels in love with them (and their love story) too!

Today’s love story is all about timing. Matt and Meredith grew up in neighboring towns, attended rival high schools, and had several mutual childhood friends. However, it wasn’t until a few years after college that they finally met!

Meredith was having lunch with one of their mutual friends (also one of her bridesmaids) and Matt happened to stop in the same restaurant on his lunch hour to pick up a to-go order. Upon seeing them, Matt decided to dine in and join them. They were both immediately interested, but neither made a move for a phone number. Strangely though, they both just had a feeling that things would work out between them.

A few months later they ran into each other at a friend’s Halloween party – Matt was a Saturday Night Fever 70s guy, and Meredith was Flash Dance. Afros, leg-warmers, and decade-themed dance moves abounded; but it wasn’t until they ran into each other at a New Year’s Eve party (at the best man’s house) that they put an end to their coincidental meetings!

A few days later they went on their very first date! Matt surprised her with reservations at Old Ebbitt Grill in D.C. and theatre tickets to see “Young Frankenstein” at The Kennedy Center! It was such a romantic and fun date. They ended the night at a local pub with friends where Meredith ripped her dress straight up the back seam! A good story to tell their grandkids one day… Especially when she recounted the story to friends who immediately insisted the two would get married. While she played it off at the time, Meredith secretly hoped that it would be true!

A first date like that is hard to follow – but somehow there has always seemed to be an abundance of adventures where these two are concerned. Some of the highlights include: getting snowed in together (with 8 of their closest friends and their 3 dogs) for almost two weeks straight during the “Snowmageddon” blizzard of 2010, snowboarding trips to Meredith’s parent’s cabin at Bryce Resort (where they first said “I Love You” to each other), spring break in Savannah and Charleston, and family vacations in the summer. They’ve been able to do a lot of fun things, but the best part for them both is sharing their ordinary, normal, everyday lives together.

It was Memorial Day Weekend and for once, Meredith and Matt opted for a low-key weekend at home instead of at the beach. Their friends’ band was playing at their favorite vineyard on Saturday, and Matt suggested they start the day out there. By all accounts, a routine Saturday for them – little did she know what Matt had planned!

Without her knowing, he’d rounded up their closest friends and Meredith’s parents to celebrate this day with them. Half-way through the band’s set, their friend Kevin hopped up to play a solo and before she knew what was happening, Matt was volunteering to help him and insisting that she sit right up front to cheer him on.

She was confused and then shocked when Matt belted out the best version of Adam Sandler’s “Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer, and her mom appeared out of nowhere to surprise her with a dozen roses. The next thing she knew, Matt was on one knee in front of her with the most beautiful diamond ring she’d ever seen! In front of her parents, their dear friends, and about 50 very supportive strangers, Meredith said YES!!! The rest is history…

{Their Wedding} Our wedding hasn’t happened yet… Fall in Virginia, an old plantation farm about 500 yards from the Potomac River, horses, boxwoods, a refurbished barn with antique chandeliers, and a tented patio overlooking a pond. Throw in some great music (string trio, jazz trio, and a DJ), beautiful flowers (with a lot of natural elements – wheat, pumpkins, natural herbs as greenery/filler such as rosemary and sage), and our friends and family (who happen to be funny, beautiful, AND fantastic dancers), and the result will be (we hope) one amazing party.

{Advice for Couples} The best dating advice I can give is to be patient and just enjoy each other. We knew it was “right” from the start because our relationship was easy and fun. We never had to force anything or worry with the typical games couples can play in the beginning. We instead choose to live, laugh, and love. This has been our laid-back philosophy since the very first meeting and has really helped now that we are planning our wedding and preparing to embark on a lifetime together.

{Behind the Lens with Kelly Ewell} Matt and Meredith are charming and heartfelt and enthusiastic about their wedding and everything that a great client and couple should be. We met up at Matt’s family farm for their engagement session and my eyes instantly darted around one great location to another. I told them that I literally could work there for hours! Meredith loves the property too. So much so that long before they were engaged, Meredith hoped she and Matt would get married someday so they could have their engagement photos taken there. We ended up shooting around the farm longer than we intended because we lost track of time. So much of what you see in these images is just the two of them being themselves. It was so hard for me to pick out the highlights to feature from this session because there’s something about each one of them that I enjoy.