"Elizabeth was born and raised in Canada, Emanuel in Australia. In the summer of 2011, both had decided to visit Romania (their parents' home country) where they met whilst on an evangelical mission trip. It was the 24th of July, when they both saw each other for the first time. They became friends after chatting and exchanging various details of their own lives. When time came for them to go their separate ways after the mission trip, they promised to stay in touch, calling and messaging and skype video calling. Even with the massive distance between Canada and Australia, their friendship continued to flourish and grow with each day that passed until they would see each other again. Choosing to close the geographical distance between them, Emanuel made the decision to move to Canada in October 2011. There he would begin a new life, new friends, all for love! Not knowing how frigid some winters would become in Canada, he would brave the conditions and continue to stay. "Our first date was on November 3rd after I got to Canada. I took Elizabeth to a restaurant, which I later found out, she had been dreaming about for a long time. It was elegant and classy. I decided that if I was going to impress her, I was really going to have to do my homework and find a great place to take her for a really nice date." -Emanuel & Elizabeth
Photo Credit: Mary-Jane Photography
The proposal: March 21st, 2012, an unusually nice warm spring day, Emanuel had suggested to Elizabeth that they go on a picnic. Elizabeth got the picnic basket ready with Emanuel's favorite homemade dip and other treats. While Elizabeth was finishing up getting ready, Emanuel spotted the finished picnic basket on the kitchen table and quickly took it to the car where he would secretly place the ring box inside. When they finally arrived at Waterloo Park, Emanuel would take care of the basket as they walked around to find the perfect spot to set down for the picnic. First table, he says "no it's too close to the kids", second table, "no, not a nice view". Finally the third table was just right. Good light, away from crowds, clean area.. just right. Emanuel let Elizabeth unpack the picnic basket, attentively waiting and watching for the exact moment she would lay eyes on the ring box which lay inside. This would trigger the moment he would begin confessing the feelings and love he has for her and then pop THE question. It was a moment never to forget. She responded joyfully with a confident "YES!". The ring fit perfectly too! The picnic ended shortly after that since their appetite was eaten up by the joy from what had just happened moments earlier.
About their engagement session: The engagement session was absolutely amazing and we had heaps of fun! We were so excited to finally have our own session where we would also be able to showcase some of Emanuel's favorite locations in Queensland, Australia. We had planned for three locations, but the session turned out so well it actually looks like four locations! MJ did an amazing job helping us feel very comfortable while she was snapping away. We had so much fun together that we lost track of time!
