From the Photographer
After two reschedules due to weather, we finally were able to capture the engagement of Janine & Lucas! The wait was well worth it. All smiles and hugs when we arrived! Their dog Atticus was the star at the start, but we eventually walked around the Rose Gardens to capture just them. Preston wasn't able to capture this session, but Laurette was able to this time! He was hobbling along on crutches, but was still able to assist and give some fun prompts! It was a great time, we even crashed a cub scout event in the process. haha. We think their wedding is going to be so much fun! We can't wait. Enjoy their story & the photos we captured, together! Check out some of the BTS on our Instagram for this session!
How they Met
We actually met on Tinder, not looking for anything serious at the time - just wanted to see how it worked. However, we saw that we had some mutual friends in common, and Janine messaged Lucas asking a question about Game of Thrones because she hadn't seen it yet, and Lucas was already a huge fan. We connected over our love of nerdy things, talked for about 3 weeks, then we had our first date on December 30th, 2014. The date lasted 15 hours (dinner, bar, talks in my car) and turned into our second date when we had breakfast at 7 AM. Then, Janine thought it'd be a brilliant idea to take this shy guy to meet her entire Italian family at her cousin's annual New Year's Eve party as a 3rd date, just 24 hours later. Since then, we've been inseparable, and still avid GOT fans.
The Proposal
Lucas struggled to figure out how to propose during the COVID-19 pandemic, so he planned something intimidate and simple in front of Janine's parent's home. On New Year's Eve (we really love NYE...), he asked Janine to take our 5-month-old puppy outside to go to the bathroom, but when she walked outside, she started to see our family peeking out from behind the cars. His mom ran in the front of our porch with her phone in hand because she was recording, and then I saw our siblings, his dad, and some of Janine's nieces. They were all bundled up in their coats and hats because it was freezing, and Janine literally said out loud: "what the f*uck?" It's on the recording- check it out, sometimes. When Janine turned around, Lucas was down on one knee, right outside the front door, and Janine's dad was in the doorway recording it on his phone, while her mom was still frantically looking for her coat. Janine's mom ended up almost interrupting the proposal because she walked out right behind Lucas- SOBBING, grabbing her chest, and gasping "Oh my God!" For someone who usually controls their emotions really well, Janine was crying like a baby and couldn't believe it was actually happening. It was DUE to happen after 6 years of being together, but she didn't expect it to occur how sweet and impromptu as Lucas planned it. And to top it off, Lucas bought a beautifully unique ring that reflects Janine perfectly.
Best Part of the Engagement
We love the planning process - being able to choose who we want to reflect us during one of the biggest and best days of our lives. We were very particular about our photographers (obviously, great), our DJ, and where we chose to be married. We love coming up with unique things to do at our wedding, like planting a tree for our unity ceremony, instead of something super traditional. We're excited!
Advice from the Couple
Plan the wedding you envision that is reflective of YOUR relationship. Don't plan a wedding to make everyone else happy. If you don't want someone there, don't invite them. If you don't like a recommended vendor, don't hire them.
