Wildlife Sanctuary Engagement Photos by Vanessa Joy
Happy almost spring time! Well, one could only hope it’s almost spring time! I’m so excited to share these wildlife sanctuary engagement photos with you today! This session was definitely different for me and it’s always challenging working with animals – but that’s makes it fun! Jeannine and Kevin were adorable and kept it really casual when we had our shoot. The weather wasn’t too terrible and we braved the chill outside and got some great images! The Antler Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary was quaint and had so many cute spots to photograph in. I especially loved the little house and fence around it. Oh! Did I mention we photographed with a pig? He was so cute! Check out more images below and learn more about this adorable couple. 🙂 EnJOY!
From the Bride:
Engagement Session Outfit inspiration:
Once we scheduled our engagement photos with Vanessa, I spent hours trying to decide what the perfect outfit would be. We knew we wanted a casual and classic vibe, but after consulting Pinterest and visiting store after store, I just didn’t feel like I was finding the right thing. A few days before our photo session I was switching out my wardrobe and came across a shirt I hadn’t worn in a while. Kevin pointed out to me that it was the shirt I wore on our first date (I was shocked he remembered that!!), and I realized it was the perfect thing to wear, with dark classic jeans and my favorite Tory Burch boots! We switched roles because Kevin is the one who wore a brand new shirt and pants from Banana Republic and new driving shoes he got on a recent trip we took to Vermont!
How did you two meet?
Neither of us were big believers of online dating, however our friends and family decided to change that for us. My sister signed me up and created a profile for me, and one of Kevin’s good friends got him a subscription for Christmas. Although he received the subscription for Christmas, Kevin hadn’t really logged in to his account for a few months. He decided to give it a try, came across my profile and sent me a message.
I had tried it for a few months and gone on several dates, where I met some nice guys who I just didn’t have chemistry with, along with a few stereotypical horror story dates. I was about ready to give up on it, but then got a message from a guy who seemed normal and looked pretty cute too, so I decided to give it one last try. We met for dinner at Urban Table in Morristown and our relationship began!
What do you both enjoy doing together with your free time?
We love to travel and explore new places! When at home, we love to relax together and watch Jeopardy (we’re both nerds at heart!) and to spend time and play with our 2 dogs, Minnie and Thor.
How did he pop the question?
I studied French for 8 years, and because of that I’ve always loved celebrating Bastille Day every year! Kevin decided this was the perfect day to propose, because not too many people in the US share the same excitement for this holiday, so he wanted to make it special! Kevin took me for a French dinner at The Grand Café in Morristown and then we went home to relax in the hot tub with some French wine. We have a running joke about how I drink so much water (which is true!), so since it was a very hot day, Kevin offered to get me a glass of water. He came back, handed me a glass and told me to look at it before I drank it…because the ring was sitting there in the bottom! He then took it out, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was completely surprised!
The best part of the story is that my mom almost ruined the surprise! Earlier in the day, we had horrible thunderstorms, so she had send me a text telling me she had lost power and asked if we had power. I responded to her text “Yes, I do.”, which when she read several hours later plus the anticipation of knowing Kevin was going to propose, she took as a wedding “I do”! She wrote back to me “OMG I’m so happy for you two!!!!!!!!!!” with lots of kissy faces, which seemed like an overly enthusiastic reaction to having power!! She realized she made an oops, but since I had no idea Kevin was planning to propose I just thought she was being weird! We are still laughing about it!
If you could vacation right now, anywhere in the world together – where would it be?
We would take a month long vacation exploring Europe! We both have never been to and would love to see Italy, Germany, France, Greece, Spain and Norway (we want to visit other countries too, but those are at the top of the list!).
What are you most excited about for your wedding? (Dances, speeches, vows, party etc).
It’s a toss up between seeing each other for the first time on our wedding day and getting to spend time with our closest friends and family (who are super important to us), celebrating the happiest day of our lives!
Wildlife Sanctuary Engagement Photos by Vanessa Joy Photography
