Farm and Lake Engagement Session by A.J. Dunlap Photography

From the couple: "Our engagement session took place on Sloan's family farm in Smithfield, NC. The farm has everything from dirt roads, tobacco fields, grassy fields and a pond. The Steven's family owns a sausage company called Stevens Sausage, so we took a few pictures for fun at the plant and at a rustic barn right behind the plant. Every location was so much fun! AJ and Kyle made us feel like we were not even being photographed; everything was so natural. I will admit we were a little nervous at first but that feeling went away quickly. Our favorite part of the shoot was when we took pictures on Sloan's boat at the pond. The boat means a lot to Sloan because it's his first boat and pretty much his treasure (other than me!!)! The boat is referred to as "The Kelsea" because I thought it was an appropriate name for the boat :) Sloan and I were having the time of our lives taking these pictures and seeing these pictures. They made us both look at each other with huge smiles on our faces and realize that we really are getting married! When AJ gave us our sneak peek at the pictures we could not choose a favorite. We were so happy and giggly during the shoot! I could not have been happier with AJ and Kyle! They made everything so easy and fun!"

Photo credit: A.J. Dunlap Photography

Their love story: Sloan and Kelsey met during the summer of 2008. Kelsey worked at Camp Seafarer and Sloan worked at Camp Seagull. Throughout the summer they became friends, but did not begin dating until later. School was about to start back up and Kelsey and some of her camp friends decided to go to Sloan's fraternity's annual "back to school" band party. A lot of dancing and a few drinks later, Sloan was asking for Kelsey's number and the rest is history!

The proposal: Kelsey and Sloan decided to go to Mt. Airy to visit Sloan's sister, husband and new baby. We were so excited to see the new house they had built and recently moved in to. We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the afternoon catching up and playing with baby Kate. Ellie and Mrs. Stevens cooked a fabulous dinner for everyone and soon after dinner Sloan said, "Let's go get our bags out of the car." Kelsey grabbed her coat and headed out the door. We got our bags out and were heading back into the house when Sloan said Kelsey had forgotten something in the car. I kindly told him to hurry up because it was cold and windy. He nervously told her to hold on. As I turned around there was Sloan pulling the box out of his coat pocket asking me to marry him. I said yes!

Rustic Lake Engagement Session by Briana Moore Photography

I'm so excited to share this rustic lake engagement session from Briana Moore Photography with y'all! There are tons of photos in this feature because I couldn't narrow down to just a few - I love them all! Thank you so much for sharing this session with me, Briana!

From Briana: It has a very rustic/americana vibe... but everything we did has deep significance to the couple. These 2 are lovely. :) Also, the bride works in the industry (Maggie Sottero/Bari Jay Rep), so be on the look out for a beautiful wedding next summer! For Guy & Shannon, Lake Winnipesaukee is home. These waters are brimming with memories of care-free childhood and blossoming love. This year, their past and future were joined together on a fateful canoe ride. Floating peacefully, Guy proposed to Shannon, and her response was a promise to much more than just marriage. It was a commitment forever rooting them to the lake. This will one day be the place they can teach their children to swim. Their grandchildren will drive over the bridge and point out where their wild elders took a sunrise jump into brisk waters, while they were still caught up in young love. The lake is a part of them, and their loving legacy will be a part of the lake

Their love story: Our story is better told by my Fiancé, explaining his vision of his middle school friend's older sister is one for the books. From my point of view, Guy was always one of my favorites of my brother's friends growing up. He would walk into our house with a big smile and his arms out for hugs then disappear into the basement with the arcade games and the drum set. Every once in a while we would catch each other's glance but never considered each other as anything more than friends. Years passed and we were finally both in places in our lives where we could finally be honest with those deep-down feelings we were dancing around for so long. After some flirting and shaking off the shock of what was going on, Guy asked me out on a real date. As a respectful friend, he asked my brother's permission, of course, and was given immediate approval. Guy and I both realized we had something we have never had before: true, deep down, butterfly causing, squeeze so tight it hurts-kind of love. We had become one big family and could not be happier about how we got there.

The proposal: Guy had planned our engagement out all on his own. He specifically chose all of the elements to his proposal and executed it all perfectly, down to the sandwiches. My whole family was up at our Lake Winnipesaukee house for Memorial Day weekend, 2012. His sister and new brother in-law were visiting for the first time. The weekend began with the yearly clean-up before summer were Guy found an opportunity to ask for my hand in marriage from my late father and his friend, my brother. A blessing from my brother and an unforgettable line from my dad later, Guy was all smiles. We were enjoying the sun by the lake and decided to have a quick lunch. Danielle and I make up some sandwiches but Guy declines a sandwich stating, "We can have sandwiches any time...do you want to go for a canoe ride?" Danielle and Paul chuckle while I remain oblivious to all of the nerves that were seeping out. Guy, our dog Lady, and I paddle away while the rest of our family waits patiently on the beach for our return. After some small talk, about half way around an island, Guy steadily makes his way towards me in the canoe. He was able to remove the ring from his board shorts, peel off the plastic bubble he had wrapped around it, and got down on his knee. I was so thrilled, I can barely recall the words we exchanged. I do remember exclaiming, "YES!" There were tears and laughs all while Lady sat patiently wedged between us in the front of the canoe. As Guy continued our ride around the island and towards the shore, our family held up signs, "CONGRATS GUY & SHANNON!", "YOU'RE ENGAGED!" As soon as our feet hit the land there were bottles of champagne and cake waiting for us. It was a memorable weekend that everyone involved will cherish, a great way to kick off the summer.

About their engagement session: We asked Briana and her husband James to come up to the lake for an overnight in July to help us capture the spirit of our engagement. We brainstormed ideas for locations, outfits, props, and ways to keep the cameras dry. We were able to include my parents to provide the varying modes of transportation like the classic Ford truck and the boat Briana was in to get some great shots of our bridge jump. We are so lucky to have a photographer with such a great personality. She and James made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera over the two days of shooting. Our time spent together taking these photos has been one of my favorite memories. I am so happy to have these beautiful images to look back on for so many reasons.

Big Bear Lake Canoe Engagement Session by Kristen Booth Photography

I simple adore Kristen Booth and am always so excited when she shares her beautiful work with me. This sweet engagement session took place in Big Bear and I was so excited to see that the couple actually went out into the water on a canoe! Thanks for sharing, Kristen!

Their love story: Mark and I met in college. We had an english class together, but at the time I had a boyfriend. Mark claims he had an instant crush on me, but didn't show it. He was always nice to me (never flirty) and we would txt every now and then just as friends and see how each other was doing. My boyfriend and I broke up. After about a year Mark and I hadn't talked much, but my sister was out christmas shopping(2009) and Mark asked her "are you sierra's sister? She said yes, really confused as to why someone she'd never known was talking to her. Well she called me and told me "Mark Tucker" says hi and I texted him that night. From then on we txted constantly. He asked me to be his girlfriend a few months later on valentines day and since then we've had our ups and downs, but through it all we knew we wanted to be with each other always. He was the country boy I always wanted to be with and he says that from the first time he saw me smile he told all of his friends that he would be with me one day. Mark is currently a deputy sheriff and I am in nursing school to become an RN.

The proposal: Mark and I LOVE Disneyland. He surprised me and bought us annual passes for our 2 year anniversary. (Feb2012) I am a nursing student at Loma Linda University and we had just finished finals week and he very casually asked me if we wanted to go to Disneyland that weekend to celebrate. Throughout the day we didn't really ride any rides. We walked and talked and just enjoyed the day, but around 3:30 in the afternoon he told me he wanted to "go to dinner" at 4. So we left the park and he led me to the rose gardens where they hold there weddings. There is a gazebo there and he walked me down the aisle up to the gazebo. As we go closer, I realized that my mom was there and so were our good friends Ron and Jamie. Mark set our stuff down and proceeded to get down on one knee and open the most perfect little box with the ring I have been wanting for quite a while. Mark has always had a hard time expressing himself; he's very conservative, but the words he said to me were absolutely perfect. Of course I started crying and instantly said YES and wrapped my arms around him. (My dad tried so hard to be there, but couldn't because he had to work.) Jamie was able to catch our special moment on video and get great pictures of Mark proposing. I love being able to look back on those memories and have them for the rest of our lives together. We then went to dinner together with my mom and our friends and celebrated together.

About their engagement session: Our engagement session was SO much fun! Kristen is amazing! I was nervous that we may have felt a little embarrassed for the shoot, but Kristen made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera. We did two looks. Mark and I have always loved fishing together and Kristen had the perfect idea of taking pictures on the lake, in a boat, with fishing poles! I instantly loved the idea. It was so fun being able to do something different and actually be out on the lake taking photos! Our second look was a fairytale forest look. It was so fun trying to act magical, but I love the way our photos came out. They were exactly what I imagined. When we found Kristen I wanted her to be our wedding photographer because I love the romantic, soft, fairytale look she goes for. She makes you feel amazing, like a princess really. She adds the extra sparkle that every girl wants and captures true love perfectly on camera!