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| Engagement Photos by Kristen McNish |
With my Best Friend there to capture photos; everything I had been hoping for came true before my eyes.
The Backstory - I met Cody When I was just 15 years old, he threw me my Sweet 16 &, We Celebrated Graduating High School & years later College together. Growing together, but separately - we saw years of our Relationship living separately, sometimes an entire country between us. We spent years of our life together. He returned from a cross Canada Tour, was there to see me Graduate from College, & we moved in together in our own tiny apt in Ottawa. He attended College himself & I got to be there to celebrate him too! We moved back to the town we met in, the town we got engaged in, The town I would become his Wife.
I grew up watching Romantic Comedies, I have always been a romantic. Cody said to me the other day that when it came to love languages I was multi-lingual! I just love Love & always have, but I never imagined I would meet the love of my life in High School, a fellow lover of Romantic Comedies.One of our very first conversation was about the book Angus Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging ; & I will never forget the way I felt when he referenced it.
11 Years (now 12) with this man by my side chasing our dreams & tackling life together. I often dreamed of a day that he might ask me to marry him, but I honestly never Imagined that I could feel as full of love as I do!
I so Grateful that he even thought to have my Best Friend Kristen there to shoot the entire thing. I have a photo from our very first date (which I will share below) & it blows my mind how different we look & yet how similar the photos somehow are. - Neither of which where staged, but captured by friends in the middle of real moments.
It will be such a blessing to have these photos to look back on, in the years to come, as I do with so many of our other photos now!
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| Photo by Hannah x Camera (in High School) |
The Engagement -
What I thought would be a photo shoot with my Best Friend Kristen McNish in the Forest, (something we do quite frequently) turned into something else entirely. Truthfully! (Cody had been acting a little bit strange for a few days - but I was so oblivious to all of the details until after.) He had been out to visit my Parent's ... without me...(so unlike him). now he is VERY close to my Parents, but he doesn't go and visit them without me.... or hadn't until this time. He went to ask for my hand, he knows that I am a traditionalist in many ways, and that this would mean very much to my Parents, & I. Kristen arrived to my house & I was dilly-dallying around (as I do) - She was quick to rush our 'photo shoot' along... (so unlike her). We got into her Car & began to drive down the road to Mac Johnson Wildlife Conservation . Looking back I remember she was Silent. She wasn't even singing along to the Radio with me ... (so unlike her). We parked close to our favourite spot. Kristen kept trying to make me lead, (to give this some context - if you don't already know, I have absolutely NO internal compass. I could get turned around and lost in my own forested back yard, or lost in the tiny 6 block town I spent my whole life growing up in). & she was insisting I lead our way to this secret spot we found... in the middle of a Conservation Area... Needless to say, I was frazzled, turned backwards, asking her Where Do I Go?? Straight ?? Keep going Straight?? She already had her camera pulled out... (she doesn't usually walk through the forest with her camera out EVER -- Another detail, or clue missed in that moment but remember so clearly looking back). I saw the way the forest opened up in front of me and for one brief moment I relaxed. I wasn't lost & confused anymore, I knew where I was. Then I saw him... Down on one knee... Dressed up Cargo pants, & a Collard shirt. I knew what was happening, but something took over me. My ears started to buzz, & then they shut off. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't move. I just stood there. Stunned. I had waited 11 years for this moment, I had dreamed of it a billion times, & I was still so unprepared for what was about to happen. I was still just standing there, Kristen tried to encourage me forward (likely into frame). Cody had set up all of these lanterns just up the path. I didn't move. Cody stood up & walked over to me, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a massive hug. He looked at me, in the sincerely sweetly way he does & then he walked over & got back down on one knee. He spoke the most beautiful words to me & I truthfully didn't hear them in that moment. I am forever grateful he had them written down, & that he let me read them later -- after I had calmed down a bit) He had my favourite song by our dear friend Korey Purdy playing softly in the background. A song I am so grateful he played live for us at our wedding, as we signed our marriage license.
He asked me to Marry Me. & I said yes!!!
I was just gushing with excitement & Cody asked me on our way to the car, If I wanted to go out & tell my mom! I Jumped at the Chance! Just as we were about to pull out of the parking lot my Mother pulled in!! I Jumped (again) this time out of an almost still moving vehicle & right over to her!
We hugged & cried & celebrated together in the parking lot, & then went for Coffee. It was perfect.
