Peace Valley Park Engagement Session | Candice & Jon
Last Fall, I photographed Candice and Jon’s Peace Valley Park engagement session. Candice and Jon met on Bumble, Jon was wearing a shamrock formal suit, meanwhile running a race, so Candice started off the conversation by asking about it. They quickly found out they were both animal lovers, enjoyed the outdoors, and were both engineers doing very similar jobs in different industries. And they only lived about 15 minutes apart!
After a not-so-subtle hint from Candice that she was interested in meeting in person, Jon asked Candice out for drinks. Their first date took place on 10/4/17 at a local restaurant. They each ordered one drink and started chatting about everything from families and hobbies, to even bringing up politics (luckily they both have similar views!). Suddenly 3 hours had flown by and they talked so much they still had only ordered one drink! They planned a second date few days later, Jon had wanted to impress Candice and took her to a fancy new steakhouse in town. When they sat down, Candice asked Jon if he would judge her if she didn’t order a steak, as she is actually a vegetarian! Jon was mildly embarrassed and said that he would have taken her elsewhere if he had known. Thankfully, Candice had looked at the menu beforehand and saw there were several vegetarian friendly options. At the end of their second date, they shared their first kiss. To this day, that steakhouse is one of their favorite places and after booking their wedding, they realized that the day they say “I do” (10/10/20) would also be the third anniversary of their first kiss!
The proposal from the happy couple: “We had a very nontraditional engagement. As our relationship got more and more serious (summer 2018), and we knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, the conversation turned to the timeline of a proposal and marriage. Looking at future dates, Candice ideally wanted to get married on 10/10/2020. They realized that the date was going to book up quickly at venues, and Jon was still in the process of saving for a ring. So, they decided to book a venue before being “officially” engaged. They considered themselves engaged the day they signed their venue contract together, on 12/1/18.
The official proposal came on 8/23/19. Candice knew Jon had the ring in his possession, after all she had helped pick out the center stone, and knew when he sent it to a jeweler to be placed in a setting. She figured out the date of the proposal due to Jon hinting she should get her nails done. Candice’s knowledge of the proposal didn’t stop Jon from having a few tricks up his sleeve!
Jon planned a lovely evening, telling Candice he was taking her to one of their favorite restaurants, the steakhouse from their second date. On the day of the proposal, Jon texted Candice a picture of him and their dog Harry in their backyard. This would not normally be abnormal, except that Jon had gotten home about 45 minutes early from work. Candice was convinced she was going to get home and walk into her proposal, and then they would go out to dinner to celebrate! She was wrong. Jon kissed her hello when she got home, and then went upstairs and played video games until it was time to leave for dinner. When they parked for dinner, they were walking toward the restaurant when Jon dropped to his knee…..to tie his shoe…causing Candice to roll her eyes, knowing he was doing it on purpose to trick her and throw her off! Dinner was lovely, but passed by without a proposal. Jon then suggested they walk around the town, and maybe down to the riverfront where there is a pretty park. By the time they got to the riverfront, it was dark, and then Jon suggested they go home.
By the time they got home, Candice was mildly confused as to why Jon hadn’t proposed yet, when Jon suggested they go lay out in their hammock. As they were laying in the hammock, and Jon started saying all of the things Candice had been waiting to hear, about how much he loved her, Candice realized he was possibly starting to get ready to propose. She hinted that it was very dark out, and ideally would like to see the ring when he proposed. A few minutes later, Jon took Candice back inside, turned on every light in the downstairs of their house, asked “is this enough light?”, and then got down on one knee and proposed in their living room. Candice started crying and immediately said yes! It was a whirlwind of a day, but it was perfect for us!”
When Candice and Jon are not planning their classic Fall wedding with rustic charm at Old York Country Club, they like going to the movies once a week for “movie Tuesday”. They enjoy hiking and camping, going to Broadway shows, cooking together, and love relaxing at home with their 3 cats (Simba, Nala, Darth Vader “Vadie”) and their dog, Harry (after Harry Potter). After marriage, their dream is to continue to live their best lives together and supporting one another in their dreams of traveling, building their dream home, hopefully retiring a little early, and growing old together.
Any advice for future bride’s planning?
Although our engagement was not traditional, having two years to plan our wedding has been very helpful, and has helped keep stress levels down! We had our venue, photographer, officiant, and band booked before our official engagement, which now makes finding our last couple of vendors much more manageable without having to run around and book all of our vendors in a short window of time.
And finally, what are you most looking forward to about your wedding day?
We are looking forward to finally being husband and wife, and being able to celebrate with all of our friends and family!
Thank you Candice and Jon for allowing me to photograph your Peace Valley Park engagement session, I cannot wait to capture your wedding!
Are you planning a Peace Valley Park engagement session? Click here to view my engagements portfolio for more inspiration! Ready to book? Click here to fill out my contact form for more info.
