A Fairhope Pier Engagement

I went on a trip to Italy the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. It was my first trip to Europe, my first time to leave North America. If I think about it, that trip to Italy was when I really began my photography journey. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I remember wanting to take pictures of everything. I remember being towards the back of the group as we walked the streets of Siena, Assisi, Florence and Rome, simply because I kept pausing to take pictures. Maybe it was the beautiful countryside, or the artwork of the Italian masters, that ignited my love for preserving memories with a camera. I still treasure those photos that I took on that trip with my mom’s point and shoot Canon camera.

Aimee was one of my fellow school mates who went on the Italy trip. I never dreamed back then that all these years later she would be calling me up to photograph her wedding! When Aimee first contacted me about wedding photography she hadn’t even set her date yet! I love a girl who plans in advance! Aimee is also a fellow photographer, so I was not surprised that she wanted to plan her day around photography.

Aimee and Jonathan’s love story began 13 years ago, although they didn’t know at the time that their meeting would be the beginning of something special. They were friends for years and when they both found themselves single at the same time years later, they realized they’d been put into each other’s paths all those years ago for a reason. Fast forward to today and they are planning a spring wedding for 2019!

The first time I met Jonathan I told Aimee that he reminded me of my cousin, Tanner. I could immediately tell he is a Southern gentleman with a big heart. I loved hearing him tell the story of how he proposed to Aimee. How he didn’t plan it out exactly, but that he knew he wanted to do in Fairhope, their special date night getaway. As they walked around the pier one night after dinner, Jonathan was preoccupied with picking out the perfect spot to propose.

That night, Aimee and Jonathan made their way to the beach area that overlooks Fairhope Pier. They sat down on a piece of driftwood, soaking in the evening air. When a pelican landed nearby, Jonathan pointed it out to Aimee. As soon as she turned away to look at the pelican, he knew this was the place and the moment. He dropped to one knee and when she turned back around she nearly shouted “Yes!” before he even got the question out. Aimee said she was just so overjoyed and Jonathan was happy that he’d been able to pull off the surprise. I love that Jonathan said he didn’t want to propose on the pier because of the stories you hear of people dropping the ring in the water! Smart man!

I loved spending the afternoon with Aimee and Jonathan for their engagement portraits. We even went to the exact spot of the proposal for the end of their session. Talk about the perfect way to wrap up an engagement shoot!

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