Happy first Monday in August, friends! I can’t even believe we have welcomed a new month already! The summer is flying by for us, as I’m sure it is for you, too. This month I’m so excited to be looking forward to our first family vacation. We are going to be vacationing in Maine next week and I can’t wait! But first, we have lots of galleries to deliver so it’s going to be a busy week. I also wanted to share some of the engagement sessions I’ve got on the blogging queue. First up is Amanda and Jonathan!
I met up with these two last month in Spring Lake. They live in North Jersey but picked Spring Lake for their engagement session because Amanda actually grew up nearby and spent a lot of her childhood at Monmouth County beaches. They love parks and beaches and Spring Lake, of course, has them both, so it was the perfect location for them. I love this location for the very same reason so I was delighted they chose it for their session.
Amanda and Jonathan have been engaged since March and as soon as you see them, you will notice that they are just over the moon excited to be engaged and planning their wedding. They love to smile from ear to ear and those big smiles are so contagious! I loved working with this couple and hearing about their wedding plans, too. They are planning a wedding at their local church and celebrating at Indian Trail Club next July. They chose this location because it is close to home and plan to raise their future family there.
I’m so excited to see their wedding come together, especially because Amanda is a graphic designer and she is working on creating all the stationery pieces, favors, and signage herself! I definitely have a soft spot for stationery so I’m really excited to see what she comes up with! We’re less than a year away from the big day and I’m sure this year is going to fly by so we’ll get to see all the pretty in no time. For now, enjoy getting to know these two below!
Summer Engagement in Spring Lake, NJ
How they met
Jonathan: “We were both living in the city at the time. Amanda was convinced to download Tinder by her friends and we matched an hour or two after she signed up! I was her first Tinder date. Coincidentally, we both were headed on family vacations (Hilton Head for Amanda and Cape Cod for me) so we texted back and forth constantly until we could meet up. We like to say we wrote each other novels, because it would be about about 12 messages at time with multiple topics of conversations going at once! We finally met in person when we were both back.”
Their first date
Jonathan: “After two weeks of texting all day every day we finally got the chance to meet up for dinner at one of my favorite bars in the city, Rye House. It felt like there was almost too much to talk about and we ended up chatting for around five hours. The date only ended because I had to get into work early the next morning.
Amanda: “I remember not wanting to get up from the table to use the restroom because I didn’t want to stop talking to him!”
When they knew they had found the one
Jonathan: “I knew Amanda was the one when I saw her smiling face walking towards me as I anxiously turned around while waiting to meet her at the bar.”
Amanda: “I had a sneaking suspicion Jonathan was the one before we officially met in person, but I knew for sure within the first few dates. In all of our conversations it was clear that our personalities, values, and aspirations were really a perfect match. I was so nervous during our early dates, trying so hard not to “mess” things up, because I knew it’d be really tough to find someone like him ever again. It turns out he was feeling the same way during our dates that I was!”
The proposal
Jonathan: “One of the strongest foundations of our relationship is our shared life goals. Instead of proposing on a vacation or in the city (not that those aren’t incredible ideas) I felt Amanda would find it much more meaningful to get engaged somewhere that we could see ourselves living in the future. The little park in the middle of Ridgewood turned out to be the perfect spot!”
One thing they love about each other
Amanda: “One of the many things I love about Jonathan is his kindness. He finds joy everywhere we go and goes out of his way to make the people around him feel happy and at ease. It’s impossible not to smile when you’re around him!”
Jonathan: “Amanda’s determination has always inspired me. I love how she can set her sights on something and accomplish it with laser focus while still managing to maintain her bubbly sense of humor.”
All about the ring
“The ring has three stones, which some people say represent the past, present and future. I love that it’s a little different than the traditional engagement ring and I melt every time I see it. I can’t believe it’s mine! Jonathan and his parents designed the ring with their local jeweler.”
