Princeton University Engagement Session – Princeton Photographer
This Fall, I had the honor of being Kim and Nick’s Princeton photographer for their Princeton University engagement session. Kim and Nick first met as college students at High Point University in North Carolina and they were both at the same school event on February 1, 2014. They were each told separately that “someone really wants to meet you.” and from that point on, Nick asked her to be his valentine and they went on their first date on February 14, 2014. Their first date was at a small local restaurant called Southern Roots, Nick had never been, but it was Kim’s longstanding favorite. Nick was so nervous, he couldn’t look her in the eyes the entire dinner, and it took about three dates for him to build up the courage to actually look her in the eyes. For Nick, it was the cliche’ love at first sight, he had a strange feeling about her the first night he met her, and even went back to his apartment and told his best friend, and now best man, that he had met the “one”.
Kim and Nick were engaged on 03/05/2017, the proposal, from Nick (this is quite the romantic story!): “I’ve always been a fan of Ed Sheeran, and when I heard his song “Tenerife Sea”, all I could think about was Kim. The song states “should this be the last thing I see, I want you to know its enough for me, ’cause all that you are is all that I’ll ever need….you look so beautiful in this light, your silhouette over me. The way it brings out the blue in your eyes is the Tenerife Sea”. This song brought me back to our first dates where I couldn’t even look her in the eyes, perhaps because they are so beautifully blue.
Towards the end of senior year, when I knew that I was ready to start shopping for rings, I had an idea. Tenerife is a real place, so why not bring her there to propose. In October I asked her dad for permission to take her on a trip, under the guise of celebrating our 3 year anniversary. Once I booked the trip, on November 4, 2016 I asked Kim’s parents if I could marry her. The planning began to take Kim to the island of Tenerife in early March. At first I didn’t want to even tell her we were going on a trip until the day we were supposed to leave, but I wanted to her to have something to look forward to (as we were living in separate states). For Christmas I gave her a cork from “Palmer Vineyards” (that was her first hint given my last name) and told her that we would be going to California. I’m a bad liar so she had her suspicions, but she didn’t know where we were going until the morning we departed, when I told her that she needed to go to the bank to get Euros.
On March 4 we arrived in Tenerife and had a relaxing first day. Kim didn’t know it, but my family had come in on another flight and were on the same island ready to photograph the event and celebrate with us. On the morning of March 5 I told Kim to dress up as we were “going to a vineyard”. This too was a lie, but I knew i would’ve been in trouble had I not told her to dress nicely for her own engagement. Convincing her to go on a walk on the beach in her nice clothes was perhaps the most challenging part of the whole charade, but after a debate she relented. I walked her on a secluded beach, facing the “Tenerife Sea” and asked her if she would “make those beautiful eyes mine forever.” After that we spent the rest of the week relaxing on beaches, sailing with dolphins, and wine tasting in the shadow of the island’s volcano.
I wanted this trip to be one that we could always look back on and remember how we are both all that we need. To symbolize the Tenerife Sea and Kim’s blue eyes, I had the jeweler put two small aquamarine stones on the bottom of her engagement band.”
When these two are not planning their classic and elegant Pleasantdale Chateau wedding, they are drinking coffee, tasting good wine, and eating delicious food. They love to travel and their honeymoon destination will be Nick’s 24th country visited and their 9th country visited together. They love exploring new places and immersing themselves in the cultures of the places they visit.
What are these two most looking forward to on their wedding day? Kim cannot wait to see Nick’s reaction when he sees her for the first time. That is the moment where everything will become real. Nick is most excited about getting to see Kim in her dress.
Are you looking for a Princeton photographer? Check out all the sessions and weddings I have photographed in Princeton!
