It’s here!  Our first engagement session of 2014!  Woohoo!  I’m so excited that the days are getting warmer and that we get to work with so many fabulous couples this season.  Thank you to Lindsay and Aaron for kicking off engagement photo season!  You have such a wonderful love story – I love being able to share it!

How they met

Lindsay: I met Aaron online through Christian Mingle. I had just moved back to Jersey from Colorado, and I was ready to meet someone but prefered the idea of getting to know a person before we started dating. My friends and family had been suggesting a dating site for a couple of years and I was finally ready to try it. Within a couple months I had found Aaron, or rather he had found me.

Aaron: I actually moved to New Jersey from Tennessee about the same time Lindsay moved here from Colorado. I moved up here to take a job and get my life on track. I decided to use a dating site like Christian Mingle because I knew what I was looking for in a relationship and knew exactly what I wanted. I’ve never really been into the bar or club scenes so online dating just made sense for me. I’d had a few bad experiences before and was ready to give it up altogether, but my sister insisted I keep trying. So I did, and shortly after, I asked Lindsay out on a date.

Their first date

Lindsay: I remember being so excited but trying not to be. The last date I had been on had been not-so-good, and things had ended badly, so I remember telling myself not to get too excited because it probably wasn’t going to go anywhere. We met at a starbucks near me. I rememeber thinking, ‘wow, he’s tall, that’s nice,’ followed quickly by ‘forget it, he’s different, time to let yourself be excited.’ The starbucks we went to was near a park, so we decided to go for a walk, and ended up staying for hours, talking about everything. I remember being relieved that he wanted to talk about so many different things, especially the ‘deal breakers’ right up front. I knew then he was someone I could respect, I hoped he was someone I could love.

Aaron: Well I got to the Starbucks a little early and I remember waiting outside, pretty nervous. When I saw Lindsay approaching in the parking lot I didn’t recognize her. In a totally good way though, she was much prettier in person than in the photo. We went inside and talked for a bit, a few ice breaker things here and there. It was going really well, so by the time we got to the park we were talking about serious stuff. I don’t take dating lightly so I brought up serious topics and things that I thought would be important during the relationship. We talked for hours until the sun went down. I remember driving home, I was already looking forward to our next date.

When they knew!

Lindsay: We had been dating for almost a month and had talked about the fact that we were starting to feel something more for each other than ‘like’. I knew I was falling for him, and it scared me, so I just tried not to think about, I’d just take it a day at a time. We went to the renaissance fair one weekend, and by the end of the day, I knew I loved him. There wasn’t really one specific thing just a lot of little things, like when he didn’t get me flowers from one of the stands because he knew I didn’t see the point in buying flowers, because they just die, and said he’d have to get me a permanent version like a metal/ glass flower or a picture (which he did, and I still have it). I remember driving home, fiddling with the necklace I’d gotten and thinking “ok, I love him, and that’s only a little scary.” I also waited a few days to tell him. It was a month or so later, around the start of November, when I knew I wanted to marry him. Again, it wasn’t one specific thing, just a lot of little things.

Aaron: I have to agree with what Lindsay said. It wasn’t a singular moment or event, like you see in the movies, that told me she was “the one”. It was a lot of little things spaced out over time. It was the way we agreed on things. It was the way we were able to handle NOT agreeing on things. She put up with my quirky, annoying little habits, and I made fun of her for hers. And she loved me anyway. I was able to be myself around her without having to be afraid or worry. We could talk about anything at any time. What’s not to love?

The proposal

Lindsay: It was six months to the day that we had been dating. I really wasn’t expecting anything because, well, I had forgotten we were coming up on six months exactly and thought he had too. It was the day before and he said, ‘Oh yeah, tommorow’s six months. Do you want to do something?” So the next day, I asked him what he wanted to do and he said he had something in mind but it was a surprise. Miracle of miracles, I said ok and left it alone, because normally surprises drive me crazy, I hate not knowing. He made me my favorite for dinner (spaghetti) and then he took me to the starbucks where we first met. After, we went to our park. It was so beautiful, it had been snowing all week, it had frozen so there was a bout two feet of frozen snow everywhere you looked (we both love snow). We went for a walk, and he went down on one knee and asked me to marry him… I said yes.

Aaron: I’m just glad she said yes. :)

What they love about each other

Lindsay: I love his heart. He is such a caring person, I love seeing how much people and animals matter to him, how he goes our of his way to be caring and respectful, even when it isn’t convenient. I also love how he accepts who he is, he doesn’t try to change himself or be what others want, he’s confident and comfortable enough to be who he is, its refreshing and encouraging to be with someone like that, especially since it means he accepts all my quirks (and they are legion). I love his humor, that he makes me laugh, and goes out of his way to make me laugh.

Aaron: One thing I love about Lindsay is that she is accepting and supportive, even to a fault sometimes. When I am feeling down or unconfident about my abilities, she’s always there to lift my spirits. She’s kind and caring and great with kids. She definitely has the patience that I lack. I know that’s more than one thing, but they are all as equally important as the last.

Besides getting married, what’s the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?

Lindsay: Only one? I’d have to say, seeing his face as I walk down the aisle toward him, and our life together.

Aaron: Besides getting married? I would have the say the multi-layered, multi-flavored chocolate and vanilla wedding cake we are getting. It’s gonna be awesome.

 

NJ State Park Engagement Session by NJ Wedding Photographer Idalia Photography, a husband and wife photography team based in Central New Jersey. Contact us for more information.