PICTURESQUE CUNNINGHAM FALLS ENGAGEMENT SESSION | EMILY & WILL | MARYLAND WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

A Sweet Sitcom Come to Life

Who would’ve thought that those silly personality tests would bring Emily and Will together? It would be amusing if the pharmacy school they were both attending knew this would happen, but more than likely it was just God working his magic…again! The first step matched all the students into groups based on their personalities, and then those groups were setup to grow as one

“At the end of the first week, all of the newly assigned groups did a series of team building exercises, one of which was a maze in which one partner had to guide the other partner through while blindfolded. We were a pair, and I remember distinctly feeling like I was starting a new chapter in my life, somehow- I even thought to myself, ‘Who knows, in a year I could be dating this guy.”

It didn’t take long for Will to gather up his courage and ask Emily out to dinner.  “I knew I had to try something. However, we were all stuck within the same walls for 4 years, AND in the same group for at least one! I anxiously bided my time until the end of the first year, with all the roller coaster emotions involved in surviving that long, and asked!“

“He asked me to dinner at the end of the year once we no longer had to be in a group together, just on the off chance I rejected him, which clearly I did not… it’s now been six years since we met and a little over five since we started dating!” 

And even better, it turned out this group was more perfectly matched than expected because not only did Emily and Will find each other, but they also found two of their closest friends to date!

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

While they had already discussed their engagement and had a very transparent discussion about their future, Will had decided to surprise her by proposing using one of the seasons most iconic movies: White Christmas! “There’s a little Christmas light set up in Clearbrook Park near Winchester, VA. It’s a beautiful park, and people come from all around the area to see it. Emily’s parents love the movie White Christmas, and it was one of the many seminal movies we watched together. I planned for a snowy Christmas light proposal.”

But plans went awry when there was no snow! Just a light dusting. If you have seen the movie, then this is actually pretty accurate, as they don’t get snow until the end of the movie, but the romance flourishes nonetheless among the green pine trees and fresh grass. This may have been going through his mind when he just decided to go for it and ask her anyway! He also may have just not wanted to wait another second!

Emily was actually having a pretty stressful day that day, as they were both in the heat of their residencies and those can be harrowing experiences at times, to say the least. So it was a welcome distraction to go experience some Christmas cheer and walk the display together. I’m sure her day took a massive turn when he pulled her aside in their own little corner of the world and asked her to marry him. She said Yes!

The Best Days are Those Spent With You

Will: “The favorite days are…all the days. We have high energy days and low energy days, and the fact that we can rise to each other’s motivation is such an endearing thing. From quiet days with wine and books at a winery (or, in pandemic season, on the balcony), to road trip adventures to experience an honest to goodness Maine Lobsterfest. Often, the favorite days are chill nights cooking together, enjoying music and wine and sharing stories or streams of consciousness.”

Emily: “Even on the most stressful work days, I love being able to come home to the life we’ve built together. My favorites, though, are our lazy weekend days- where we don’t have to go anywhere, we just get to be domestic in our space. Go downstairs to get some donuts and have a quiet breakfast on our balcony, maybe do a few chores or work on a home project together, and then finish it up by sharing a bottle of wine while making some complicated dinner that requires a lot of prep, like a from-scratch lasagna. And after dinner, snuggling on the couch and working together on the week’s NYT crosswords.”

The One

Sometimes there is a defining moment, other times its a slow build, but eventually every couple can say how they knew the other was “the one.” That one person they can envision a forever future with.

Emily: We just… fit. We balance each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We have a great balance of things that we both enjoy, like cooking, talking about random pharmacy and medical stuff, caring for our home and animals, and reading a lot, but we have our own hobbies too. We each tend to panic about different things, which means SOMEONE is calm basically all the time. Most importantly, though, I’ve never felt like I haven’t been supported, safe, and loved. Will has seen me through some tough times and has always made sure I felt valued and loved. He’s funny, caring, and selfless, and I’m lucky he decided to ask me to dinner that one evening five years ago.

Will: It was early on. I have a brain that craves stimulation and challenge, and I can be very brash, especially with my sense of humor. The school we went to worked exclusively through Macs, so we all had iMessage going with each other during class in groups. Emily was quiet, especially early on, but as she came out of her shell I was able to see how brilliant she is and how much our sense of humors really aligned. It was a breath of fresh air, and it wasn’t long before the painfully long countdown really begun to where I could responsibly try to ask her out.

A Backyard Affair

These two will be tying their knot and beginning their adventure in…well 2 weeks! Gotta love Pandemic Season! It’s now or never! I can’t wait! See their wedding here!

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