You couldn’t ask for a more perfect day for a surprise proposal; it was one of the most beautiful, warm, sunny days we’ve had in months!

A few weeks ago, Andrew contacted me and we arranged a consultation at the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse to go over his plan. Getting to meet him and hear the excitement in his voice, and even to see it in his eyes made me that much more eager to be a part of this proposal. Being a part of memories like these, is a great reminder of why I am a photographer. Andrew arranged for the staff at the restaurant to be a part of it and we all had our parts to play.

The days leading up to the session, we fine-tuned all the details and I got more and more excited for both Ashley & Andrew. Being a part of the beginning of someone’s new chapter is a feeling that is hard to describe. It was truly an honor to have been trusted with the responsibility of capturing such a beautiful, emotion filled moment between Ashley & Andrew.

Today when I got there, I was greeted by all the amazing staff that work at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. I let them know who I was and instantly received all the help a photographer could ever wish for. I’d like to thank all the staff for all their generosity and assistance! I’d also like to specifically thank the manager, Jason, who truly went above and beyond to make this such an amazing evening for Andrew & Ashley. From helping me sneak upstairs and hiding out right before Andrew proposed, to making sure everyone was on the same page and was in place to play their roles perfectly!

As the sun was slowly starting to go down behind Lake Travis, Andrew handed Ashley a beautiful picture with a poem he’d wrote her. She stood by the balcony and read it, thanked him for it — little did she know, the best was yet to come. Watching this whole plan unfold just behind the doors had me more than excited for them both! Andrew got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, you could tell she was beyond excited, and a little shocked (in the best way possible) that this was happening. When she of course said yes, I sincerely felt so happy for them both.

Andrew and Ashley are truly so sweet together. The way he spoke about her, and their relationship at our original consult made me smile the entire time. The way he lit up just talking about her, and how excited he was to propose to her. There is nothing more wonderful than having clients that are so in love with one another.

I wanted to know more about their story, and knew that Andrew would be happy to share a little bit about how he met the love of his life. Last week, I wrote Andrew and asked him to tell me more about their love story so that I could share it in this post with you all. He was sweet enough to write a snippet of how they met, and how his feelings grew over time for her.

“Ashley and I met while working summer camp at the YMCA. We had crossed paths a couple of times and then eventually asked her to go out with some our coworkers, but this actually turned into just a date between the two of us.

I learned then that she was planning on moving to Alabama to pursue her academics, and I had just entered a graduate program that summer. So, we were both embarking on new journeys, but we decided it was worth giving it a chance. We were together that summer for about 2 months before she left for Alabama and we have been doing distance ever since then. This was eight months ago.

Each step of the way we grew. We would condense so much quality time into the times we got to see each other and then the distance forced us to fall in love with each other’s personalities. We Facetime every night for usually around two hours. Every time we see each other in person we would just grow and grow. We grew in our relationship and as individuals. It wasn’t long until we both realized that we never wanted to be apart from each other. After spending Christmas break together, we knew this was the real deal and we looked at rings before she went back to Alabama. Ever since then, I have been planning on the when, where and how.

We both lean heavily on our faith, and it has not failed us. The timing of everything and the events of our relationship have worked out perfectly and even better than our wildest imaginings. She brings out the best in me every day, and I do the same in her. I plan to continue that cycle for the rest of our lives, one day at a time.”

Ashley & Andrew, thank you so much for having me be a part of this amazing time in your life. It was so beautiful and I truly feel honored to have been there for it. You’re such amazing people, and I wish you both nothing but all the happiness in the world. This is such an exciting new chapter and I hope you enjoy every moment of it! Again, congratulations!