Chicago Engagement Session by Jaqueline Barkley Photography

"Shannon and Tom are SO in love with each other and it shows! For their engagement session the couple wanted to stay close to their condo in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. They didn't want to go "down town" to locations where it seems everyone has there engagement sessions. They wanted a representation of who they were and the streets that they walked down on a daily basis. We began the shoot on their roof deck, which has a spectacular view of the cityscape. After that we took a stroll down the street stopping in front of a building or two and then ended up in the park across the street from their condo. We took some pictures inside the park near a tree that was planted in the memory of Tom's mother. I loved that they wanted to make their engagement session SO incredibly personal." from Jaqueline Barkley Photography

Their love story: Shannon was waitressing at a bar in Chicago while in grad school. Her manager happened to be one of Tommy's best friends. Tommy started coming into the bar to see his friend, Kevin. Shannon started noticing that more and more often Tommy was patronizing the bar during her regular shifts and sitting in her section. She didn't mind. One day, Tommy asked Shannon for her number, detailing that he is not "that guy" who normally asks waitresses for their numbers. Shannon was an exception. She relinquished her digits, they went out on a date and many more after that. Shannon and Tommy were quick to move in together, a first for both. Somehow it didn't feel too fast or rash. They dated for two and a half years before Tommy proposed and a little over a year later, they were married! The rest is to be continued... :)

The proposal: Keeping secrets is not a strength of Tommy's. He is the person who buys me a Christmas or birthday gift and immediately afterwards dangles it in front of me, "Do you want to know what it is?", "Do you think you have an idea of what I got you?" Needless to say, I thought I would be able to tell the second he bought a ring. I was wrong. Tommy developed a pretty good poker face. Another thing to note about Tommy is that he usually does things in big ways. There are few events in his life that are low key or small-scale. Another reason why I thought I would be able to pin the proposal... Fancy dinner reservations, a big gathering of friends and family, etc. Wrong again. The proposal came on a Tuesday afternoon when I got home from work. Tommy told me the day prior that he was going to make dinner for us that evening, so I definitely had an appetite. I was surprised when I walked in and there was not a wonderful waft of culinary goodness to greet my nose. Instead, Tommy was watching TV on the couch. Didn't he know that I was hungry?! He told me to go sit on our bed and close my eyes. He wanted to show me something that he bought for me to wear during my upcoming girls trip to Miami. When I sat on the bed with my eyes closed tight, I could hear the brushing of material against the inside of a shipping bag. Being a girl who enjoys a good shopping trip, I recognized that whatever was being pulled out of the bag was not clothing. Oh boy, could this be what I think it is?! Upon opening my eyes, I see Tommy on one knee with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. A profession of his love for me followed by trying the ring on, and we're engaged! One minute, I am a girl living with her boyfriend, and the next I am planning my life with my future husband. Most eventful Tuesday afternoon I have ever had!