Ahhhh I can’t believe I’m sharing this girl’s ENGAGEMENT photos today!!!  Nicole and I have known each other since high school, and she was actually one of the girls who stood beside me on my own wedding day – and now I’ll get to stand with her on hers (just in a slightly different capacity, with a camera in my hand!) and I am SO stinkin’ excited about it!!!

Nicole + Carlos met at work (sort of) … they worked at neighboring restaurants, and the restaurants’ kitchens actually connected to each other.  So it wasn’t unusual for one of them to cross over to the other person’s kitchen every once in a while if they were in a pinch and needed a favor – say, some produce or an ingredient that their own kitchen had run out of.  One day, Carlos asked for two favors – some avocados, and Nicole’s phone number.  😉  He knew she liked to go dancing, so he said he wanted to take her dancing (although she maintains that he misrepresented his dancing skills, haha!).  And the rest, as they say, is history!

Although I had talked with these two over Zoom before we made things official (wedding photog + client official, that is), I only met Carlos for the first time in person at their session.  But even just in the short amount of time we spent together that day, it was so easy to see that he adores Nicole and treats her like the treasure she is – and it made my heart so happy!  (And let’s be real, it also made my job as their photographer ridiculously easy and fun, because they are effortlessly adorable together!)  But don’t just take my word for it … their images speak for themselves!

Here are a few of my MANY favorites from Nicole + Carlos’s engagement session!

I’m not going to lie, I’m a little obsessed with all of the symmetry and leading lines I was able to find at Bluemont Vineyard – from the vineyard rows themselves, to this stone stairway and the natural framing arch of the trees, this place makes an absolutely stunning backdrop for photos!

It was literally pouring rain (like, sheets of rain with thunder and lightning) during my entire hour-and-15-minute drive from my mama’s house to Bluemont, and I began to question whether the radar (which showed the weather clearing up just as we would begin shooting) had lied to me.  But sure enough, just a few minutes before we started shooting, the rain let up and the sun even gave us a tiny bit of glow behind the lingering cloud cover and it was GORGEOUS!  The rain actually cooled down what had been an otherwise hot day, and we really could not have asked for better weather during the time we were shooting!  What a gift!

Love, love, love this next shot!

I can’t get enough of these sweet little shoulder kisses that Carlos would give Nicole… seriously the most romantic thing ever!

Okay, this next one … takes my breath away every time!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

I have to end with another sweet little shoulder kiss in black + white … GAH I cannot even with these two!!!

Nicole, Carlos, I am so, so happy that you found each other!  I loved getting to spend the evening with you, and I already cannot wait for your wedding day!!!