I first saw this very romantic fall engagement session from Katie Nesbitt Photography on Facebook and fell instantly in love with it. I secretly hoped she’d send it my way and when she emailed me to ask if I’d be interested in featuring it, I actually shouted out yes like she could hear me through my iMac or something. I’m so happy I get to share this warm and cuddly engagement shoot with you today as part of our month-long celebration of love and engagements. It’s lovely and gorgeous and oh-so-sweet. And the love story? Well, that’s the best part, but you’ll have to read on to see :)

Ann Carlisle and Ryan first met while working at Red Robin the summer of 2007 between their sophomore and junior years at Virginia Tech. He was a server and she was a hostess. Sounds like a match made in heaven if there ever was. They’d both worked at Red Robin prior to that summer but worked completely opposite shifts, never having the opportunity to meet until then.

Ryan saw Ann Carlisle for the first time as he was walking through the lobby of the restaurant to clock-in for his shift. She was standing at the podium, the overhead lights reflecting off the gleaming floors to perfectly illuminate her glorious brown and gold hair. Working in a restaurant in a college town, people you never knew, went to class with, or worked with before generally became close co-workers and even friends. It was on this day, in that moment, that Ryan hoped Ann Carlisle would fall into the “extremely close, flirtatious, best friends forever” category.

But it wasn’t just her hair. On that particular day, Ann Carlisle was wearing a yellow work shirt. A seemingly insignificant detail to most was the most important detail of all to Ryan. Yellow shirts were no longer in production you see, and he thought he was the only one to still have one, let alone wear one to work (everyone else wore either red or blue). But there she was, in her yellow shirt, looking all beautiful, and he hadn’t even seen her face yet! And because Ryan’s brain works on the hopeless romantic level, he believed that because they both wore their yellow shirts to work that they were meant to be, and that this would be the best summer ever. If only he’d been right about that last part…

Ann Carlisle turned him down. After two weeks, Ryan finally found the courage to approach the podium for perfectly laid small talk which, in his mind, was to end with him walking away, head held high, her number in his hand. He doesn’t really remember what happened. It was all a blur. He thinks he asked for a date, or her number, or something, and she responded quite simply. She didn’t like to mix work and play. Burned right there at the podium. Her words played on constant repeat in his head that entire summer as he tried to be strictly co-workers with his lady in yellow.

Many months went by with them working together but not ever running into each other around Virginia Tech’s campus. One night, after a very busy, late shift, Ryan received a phone call from a friend as he walked in the door of his apartment. Too tired to take it right then, he let it go to voicemail, and fell immediately into bed.

The next morning, on his way back into work for a double shift, he checked his voicemail and was surprised to hear Ann Carlisle’s voice. They apparently, unknowingly shared a mutual friend, and after Ryan’s name came up in conversation, Ann Carlisle decided to give him a call (but because her phone had died used the friend’s instead). Her message explained that she was going out to celebrate her 21st birthday that night and asked if he’d like to come celebrate with her. Of course, he was closing down the bar that night, including the long, sticky, tedious cleaning process of the soft-serve machine. But Ryan somehow muddled through. And after the longest shift of his life, smelling like delicious soft-serve ice cream, Ryan hightailed it to the bar.

After the party, the two went back to Ann Carlisle’s apartment and spent the entire night talking. When morning came, Ann Carlisle looked at Ryan, and told him, quite plainly, that she wanted to kiss him. At long last, the words Ryan had been waiting to hear. His response, “ok!” They shared their first kiss that morning and they’ve been together ever since.

Ann Carlisle has a very fickle mind and is constantly changing her mind. It is because of this that Ryan cannot make a decision on Ann Carlisle’s behalf. He has a hard time picking out what she’d like on a sandwich – he always had to call – it’s hilarious. Needless to say, the idea of picking an engagement ring she’d actually like was a really daunting task for Ryan. But he did it. He picked one, asked her dad for his permission, and planned a proposal that he is incredibly proud of.

While dating, Ann Carlisle introduced Ryan to a Dave Barnes song entitled, “Until You.” She told him that four particular lyrics reminded her of their relationship: “Now this all makes sense, with you as company, I left all I knew and found, a better part of me.” Ryan decided to use them in his proposal as a surprise. Not the handiest guy on that planet, Ryan somehow managed to construct four signs, stain them, and stencil the lyrics onto them. They’d planned to join his family on The Outer Banks the first week in June, so Ryan stealthily broke them down, hid them in the car, and sneakingly brought them with him without Ann Carlisle finding out.

The morning of the proposal, Ryan got up early to reconstruct the signs down on the beach so nobody would hear the banging. He evenly distributed the signs along the beach (so they could stumble upon them randomly) and planted a surprise message in the bottle to kick the whole thing off. Just before sunset that night, Ryan pulled Ann Carlisle away from her book and led her down to the beach. Because she would have walked right by the message in the bottle, Ryan pointed it out, exclaiming, “Look, a message in a bottle! I wonder if it’s for you?”

Thinking he was being funny, Ann Carlisle read the note (if you follow your heart, it will last you a lifetime) without thinking too much of it. He’d placed rocks for her to follow earlier that day, but because she was completely oblivious, led her down the path he wanted her to take himself. When they reached the first sign, Ann Carlisle just gave him the same perplexed look she’d given him upon receipt of the message in the bottle. She gave no real reaction to the second sign either. But stopped dead when they reached the third. She turned to him and said, “Ryan. This is the Dave Barnes song. WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT IS THIS?” He told her they should keep going and so they did. Ann Carlisle was crying by the time they reached the fourth sign. It was there that Ryan got down on one knee and asked Ann Carlisle to be his wife. She never looked at the ring, only at him, and told him yes, she would.

In case you were wondering, Ann Carlisle loved the ring. But Ryan still can’t buy her a sandwich to save his life.

{Behind the Lens with Katie Nesbitt} I love shooting engagement sessions because not only do I get to show my couples how I work and what it will be like for them to be in front of my camera on their wedding day, I also get to hang out with the couple and get to know them as friends! Engagement sessions are so much fun because they’re relaxed, low pressure, and casual like friends hanging out! I love to bring my husband along to assist me on engagement sessions so it’s like a double date rather than a stiff and formal engagement session.

This particular engagement session was so much fun. I’ve lived in Virginia almost my entire life, but never been to Blacksburg or the famous Virginia Tech campus, so I was so excited when Ann Carlisle told me that’s where she and Ryan wanted to do their engagement session. We had been emailing back and forth and had chatted on the phone, but due to the distance never met in person. When we finally met at their engagement session, it was like meeting old friends! Ryan and Ann Carlisle are what I like to think of as my ideal clients. Why? Because they have become so much more to me than customers…they are friends and I’m invested in their love story and their relationship. This is my favorite thing about my job…that it brings so many good people and new friends into my life!

The biggest observation I can make about Ann Carlisle and Ryan is that they complement each other SO WELL. Ann Carlisle reminds me a lot of myself, and Ryan reminds me of my husband. She’s more of a planner, and Ryan is more of an easy-going guy., so they mesh well together. Each one makes up for what the other lacks. They fill in each other’s gaps and create a team that is just unstoppable. I love that they are silly, and that they play together. That they tease one another and never take life too seriously. I know that these guys are going to be together forever…why? Because first and foremost, they are FRIENDS and I honestly believe friendship is the foundation for any lasting relationship. I can’t wait for their wedding and to (hopefully) be their photographer (and friend) for life!

I LOVE this couple and I can’t wait for their wedding this October!!!

{Advice for Couples} Remember that honest and open disclosure is key! Always be willing to learn from each other. One person’s shortcoming can be the other’s strength and vice versa. You just have to be willing to turn that into an evolving learning experience for your relationship and relish in the fact you made it through disagreements together. Even if your path starts out complicated, in the end your love for each other will make everything simple and worth it. You just need to engage in activities that remind you of why you fell in love to begin with. Oh, and get a dog, but make it a Corgi. They make lives better in every way imaginable.

Congratulations, Ryan and Ann Carlisle, and thank you so much for sharing your love story with us! We wish you both so much love and laughter in the many years you’ll share together, and a beyond beautiful wedding day too! Many thanks to Katie Nesbitt for romanticizing our hearts today!! xoxo