She said “yes!”

I have had the hardest time keeping this little trip a secret! Starting back in January, my cousin’s boyfriend at the time began contacting me to try and figure out a time he could fly me to Charlottesville so that I could photograph him proposing! I was incredibly flattered that he was willing to do that for me, and also knowing it would be an extra something special for Miriam made me like him even more! That boy had the entire day planned to an absolute “t,” and managed to catch Miriam COMPLETELY off guard!! When he told me of his idea to take her to the beautiful Monticello to propose, I thought surely she would know something was fishy.  However, being a self proclaimed “history nerd,” he said this was something typical that they would do together! So they planned a day trip to “visit friends” in Charlottesville, and Jarrett popped the question in the amazingly beautiful vegetable garden at Monticello!

I was able to hide out in a little brick building that was located perfectly next to some benches that I thought would make a pretty backdrop for pictures! (Poor guy had to “use the bathroom” numerous times so that we could communicate on where I was without Miriam figuring out something was going on!) Of course as soon as I saw them walking in my direction I got tears in my eyes! What a blessing to be able to witness one of the happiest moments in someone’s life….especially someone I love so much!  I’ve never seen her look so happy…

Miriam and Jarrett met last May while they both happened to be out on the town! Jarrett told me today that he “knew pretty quickly she was something special.”  He said he’d started thinking about how and when he would propose around Christmas.  After they’d visited Monticello together for the first time, he said he thought he could picture himself doing it there one day.  And on the other side of that coin, Miriam told me she wanted to marry Jarrett after only like two months of dating him!  Clearly they both knew right away that this was what they had been waiting for!

Jarrett made Miriam’s engagement ring extra special by giving her his great grandmother’s diamond, with his grandmother’s setting.  He told us that his mom told him when he was younger that she had a ring that she wanted him to give to his future wife one day.  There’s something special about knowing she was getting something that has been a part of his family for a really long time!

Jarrett thanked me so many times for making this trek to Virginia, but it seriously could not have been more of a blessing for me to be a part of this memorable day! After about two hours of taking pictures, we drove up the road to a little winery and enjoyed a nice glass of wine before I had to head back to the airport.  What a perfect day!