How did you and your groom meet?
Khalid and I met in a cab in Nashville. My friends and his friends happened to share a cab to go downtown. There was an instant connection and we all spent the night running around town. The following day, he asked me on a date and we went out on our first date two days later.
Tell us about your proposal- with all the details!
Four months after we met, Khalid had already made it known that he intended to propose and had already asked my father for his blessing! He had taken me to Boston in early July to meet his family and friends, and I just fell in love with all of them. On July 28th, we decided to go to Percy Warner Park and Khalid packed a picnic. We walked around for a couple of hours and stopped for food once the sun started to go down. Khalid had packed candles, a bottle of champagne, dinner, and homemade chocolate-covered strawberries (my favorite)! After we ate, I reached in the bag to grab dessert and when I turned back around, he was on one knee. It was the sweetest, most perfect proposal, and, of course, I said yes!
Good job Khalid! Why did you decide to do engagement pictures?
Khalid and I have had a busy and stressful first three years of our relationship! Between a deployment to Afghanistan, retiring from the Army, career changes, school, etc., we haven’t had the chance to travel or do anything just for us. We really wanted to have someone take pictures to capture our young love so we could have something to look back at and something for our family to see in years to come.
Why did you choose the location of your engagement shoot?
We are getting married at the Carnton Plantation and we love it there! We chose the venue for the wedding because we wanted an outdoor ceremony and I was determined to get married under a big, beautiful tree. The landscape there is breathtaking! There is a long arbor, stunning garden, and the historic and magnificent Osage orange tree. Everything about the plantation is simply perfect! We chose to take our engagement pictures there because we couldn’t think of a more charming place, and we wanted to explore before the wedding!
What characteristics were you looking for in a photographer?
The main thing we looked for was the quality of the pictures and the style of the photographer. We are both into natural, clean, simple beauty- nothing that looks enhanced or photoshopped. This was surprisingly harder than I thought, until we found Nyk & Cali. We wanted someone who could photograph the love of a couple while still paying close attention to the beauty of their surroundings. We were also searching for someone who was well-rounded in the type and content of the pictures they took, making sure to get the close-ups, details, emotional moments, and the playful candid shots. We were also looking for two photographers because we didn’t want any moments missed!
How did you work with your photographer to achieve the photos you envisioned?
Khalid and I were both nervous, as neither of us are photogenic at all. However, Cali made it fun and easy. She coached us when needed, but did so without making us feel awkward and posed. She knew what shots to get and used the whole venue. One of the things that was important to us was to include our dogs in our engagement session. Cali worked with us and our crazy dogs to get some really wonderful pictures of our little family.
What was the engagement picture experience like?
What you can’t tell from the pictures is that we took them in January, when it was 40 degrees outside. We were freezing but determined to get them done in time for our Save-the-Dates. Nyk & Cali managed to make everything look perfect! We didn’t have to do anything except run around and have fun!
Do you plan to use these photos for your wedding?
Absolutely! Not only did Nyk & Cali make our Save-the-Date postcards, but they are making a guest book with pictures from our engagement session!
