2016 Engagement Contest Winners

By Jada Parrish

Posted: 01/05/17

Category: Engagement Photography

Location: Stone Brewing Richmond

 Every year we host an engagement contest where we give away a free engagement shoot to a couple with a meaningful love story. We are always so blown away by the submissions and stories we receive. This year it was so hard to choose that we ended up giving away a second and third place prize!

Well, it's time to meet this year's winners - Sarah + Matt! Their love story is so sweet, and we were honored to take these photos for them. Their sweet little girl is a big part of that story, so of course we had to include her too! Scroll down to read their love story and enjoy the photos!

How they met | We were both "Health Enthusiasts" at The Vitamin Shoppe. We found out we have the same exact birthdays (3/31/1988!) and love for dark beers, especially oatmeal stouts. We also both loved obscure bands that our fellow coworkers were clueless about. We flirted endlessly before he invited me over one day after work in October to try his newest homebrew - an amazing pumpkin ale named "Gourds Gone Wild." We carved pumpkins and shared our iTunes libraries. It was so cute and corny!

About their relationship | We respect each other, above all else. We never use violence of any kind against each other. We are both huge science nerds and into health and fitness - him moreso exercise science/strength and conditioning, while I love nutrition and dietetics. We support each other's goals, health-related or professional or personal. We allow each other time to cultivate our interests. It just so happens most of our interests coincide. He's truly my best friend. I was raised by my widowed single mom, and growing up I never knew what it was like to have a positive male in my life to look up to and trust. A man who admires women instead of lusting after them and calls himself a feminist instead of cat-calling. I found him!

Why should you receive this shoot? | Our life has been a whirlwind and our love story has seen some tiring, endless days. We put off our wedding because of a cervical cancer diagnosis I faced. There were endless nights of crying myself to sleep, thinking I would have to free this man as I may not be able to have babies and I did NOT want to rob him of a huge family, something we both wanted. After my surgery, I was told I had clear margins but my likelyhood of conception was low. Well, now we have a 16 month-old daughter and I would love nothing more than to show her gorgeous, professional photos of mommy and daddy before tying the knot - in the fall, the time of year we first fell in love.