From The Photographers
We met up with Teri & Sean in the heart of Jim Thorpe to celebrate their engagement, and they brought their adorable pup along for the fun! From strolling through the historic downtown to capturing romantic moments at a nearby overlook, every part of their session felt effortlessly natural. After we wrapped up, they reached out a few hours later to tell us about the glowing Harvest Moon — and of course, we couldn’t resist going back for a few extra photos. Those moonlit shots were absolutely worth it and made this engagement session one for the books!
How They Met
"Sean- October, 2013. It was a crisp fall night, and my friend needed the use of my minivan to go haunted house hopping with all his coworkers. Hell yeah. I'm in. Amidst the gaggle of people loading into my van is this absolute SMOKE SHOW, Teri. And that's where it all started, from there it was horror movies, cookouts, house parties, and bar hopping. Basically just friends, although I absolutely got friend-zoned. Fast forward a bit, we stopped hanging out as frequently, stopped talking, and then fell off. Then, about 3 or so years later, I see her at the restaurant I work at with a friend. We reminisce, and later that night SHE MESSAGES ME FIRST, saying we need to catch up and should go see the new horror movie that just came out." UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YES!!!!!!!!!! And that's basically it. Partying and bar hopping turned into bonfires on the beach while spending hours talking. Concerts. Road trips. MARRIAGE.
It's weird, knowing someone as long as we've known each other. We've been around for each other's best and worst moments, and yet, a decade later getting married as two rekindled spirits. There is something romantic about that. Like a hallmark movie, if it was on MTV."
Proposal Story
"We have talked about getting married for the last couple of years; what we'd want at our wedding, who we'd invite, etc. We knew we wanted to marry each other, but were in no hurry to get there. We've always been very open with each other about everything... except Sean's plan to actually propose. So I [Teri] was pretty surprised when it actually happened.
We took a trip to Europe in January of 2025 with a few of our buddies. Each day we stopped at a different city in Italy, and then finished the trip with two days in Switzerland. Out of the whole trip, I was mostly excited for our day in Grindelwald, Switzerland (yes, I am a huge Potterhead BUT everything I've seen about this place was beautiful). We woke up on January 28th to freshly falling snow with nothing but mountains outside our Airbnb. We decide to take a cable car ride up to Grindelwald-First, a 8000 M summit in the Swiss Alps. At the top of the mountain, I was speechless. I had never see a place more beautiful. Literally breathtaking, and not just because it was -6 degrees. The mountaintop had a "cliff walk" where you walked along this metal walkway off the cliff of the mountain. While in line to get to the very edge to take photos, a huge cloud of fog came through. Because of this, we were halted in this position for probably 20 minutes. I was very much enjoying the view (but also very very cold). Our friend Christian, who is deathly afraid of heights, looked miserable. I kept telling him to go wait inside and we would meet up after we got a photo at the end, but he refused. We finally make it to the edge of the cliff walk, and Sean and I are posing for a photo. I look at him and say, "We should take a photo of us kissing!" He responds, "or..." and drops to one knee and pulls out a black diamond ring (the style I always wanted). I remove my glove so he could put the ring on and he almost didn't! He was scared of it falling off because we both basically had frostbitten hands at this point. I wasn't walking away without that ring on my finger though!
Turns out, nobody knew Sean was planning this except our buddy Christian. Poor Christian overcame (or tried to) his fears just to see our proposal :')
Overall, Sean chose the most incredible place to start this journey together. It still makes me smile every time I think back to this moment.
Sean adding some stuff....I had the ring for about 6 months before the trip, I took it to most events we went to. It went to Vegas, A metal concert, Space Prom, road trips. But nowhere really felt right. Until we starting making the plans for Italy then it just made sense to do it there, and I am really really glad I did. Grindelwald was so unique and truly felt magical. I'm lucky to have someone so special I can spend my life with. "
Best Part Of Being Engaged
Teri- "Other than planning our wedding together and watching our vision come to life, my favorite part has been seeing our friends and family coming together. We had an engagement party so everyone could meet each other before the wedding, and it was such an incredible experience. Seeing both of our worlds coming together is an amazing feeling! Everyone was sharing stories, playing games together, and becoming comfortable with each other."
Sean- "We both loving planning and hosting parties for any occasion, so planning for our ultimate party has been really enjoyable. We'd be sitting in our robes with a coffee, pouring over venues and vendors. She definitely loves planning and has certainly planned far more than I have, girl has like 3 binders with colors, tabs, photos. It is amazing and I love her so much for that. The other really big one that has been hard to get use to is just everyone pouring out their love and support out for us. Our friends and family are so happy that we're getting married after this long friendship we've had for over a decade. It has really moved me to see and it all just feels normal and natural. Like it was meant to be :) I also really enjoy calling her my fiancée. It warms my heart every time."
Advice From The Couple
"Zola has been incredible! It has provided all the resources I've needed, introduced me to all of my vendors, and helped me create a wedding website. The best part- it's all free! It has been the single most important tool for all of my wedding planning.
Check reviews on your vendors! Others' experiences can help you determine if a certain vendor fits what you're looking for.
Lastly, focus solely on what you and your partner want. We are both people pleasers and spent too much time thinking about what others would like and prefer at our wedding. Your wedding day is about YOU, nobody else."
