Session Date: February 16, 2020

Raleigh, North Carolina

The best part of southern living is the fact that you can pretty much shoot sessions down here year round. That worked out perfectly for Jess + Clay and their February engagement session. On a time crunch to beat the rain, we were able to capture some seriously adorable pictures at one of my favorite locations, the North Carolina Museum of Art. They had such a fun time in the huge field out back of the museum just fooling around + being adorable together. It might have been fate that they met each other through mutual friends, but you can clearly see when you spend time with them that they were destined to be together. I cannot wait for their August wedding at the beautiful Oaks at Salem.

Take a look below to see some of my favorites from their session!

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FIRST DATE

Jess: Our first date including him picking me up from my mom’s house (haha). We drove to play mini golf and after mini golf we went and walked around a park near my moms house and got to know each other… the rest was history!! I got into nursing school a few weeks later & on that day he came by to surprise me with a bottle of wine 🙂

HOW DID HE POP THE QUESTION!

Jess: The proposal was super, super cute!!! We had gone to Duke Gardens a few months prior and loved it, but I never would’ve thought I’d get engaged there!! Clay had his family coming into town for “christmas pictures” and we were supposed to be meeting them at Duke Gardens to do them. When we arrived we slowly walked to the area and I asked Clay ” Where is everyone?” and he said they were meeting us here. We kept walking to the gazebo area and then I saw a box with roses next to it. In the box was my engagement ring and the box itself was engraved, “Jess, will you marry me?” He got down on one knee and the question was already popped! I said yes and here we are today! My mom, his parents, brother and his brother’s wife were all hiding during this time and ended up taking pictures and a video of the proposal for us. It was the best! We all went out to eat at a rooftop bar hotel where my Dad was to surprise me!

TELL ME ABOUT THE RING!

Jess: I completely picked out the whole ring that I wanted, but left room for surprises! He did actually surprise me with extra diamonds…what more could a girl ask for!!

DESCRIBE YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY?
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED FOR?

Jess: My vision for my wedding day is to be relaxed and romantic. I want to truly enjoy this time with all my family. I am most excited about putting on my dress and letting my Mom, Dad, and soon-to-be husband see! Their reactions will be priceless.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK BACK TO SEE THESE TWO GET HITCHED IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS!