I love my job.  No really… I’m head-over-heels, can’t-stop-thinking-about-it, beyond-blessed, daydreaming-all-kinds-of-things, in love with my job.  Weddings are one of the main things that I shoot and with that comes engagement sessions where I get to hang out with my couples without a timeline and photograph them as they fall more in love with each other.  And the wedding day?  Well, trying to get my brides and grooms to give me their best “model face” (aka, not smiling) is sometimes like asking the sky to turn orange on command.

Well, as if I didn’t love my job enough, I fell more in love with it on Saturday.  I’d posted that Ben and I were headed out for a top secret mission and as we drove to Clemson, the rain cleared up and the temperature leveled out so while there was a chill in the air, it was comfortable and nice.  It also helped that it was cooler because I was sweating like CRAZY!!  You’d think I was the one that was about to pop the question with the way my nerves were on end!  But gosh, it was so exciting!!!

Let me back up… Ryan’s mom sold me my house almost 4 years ago.  She is a GEM!  I love her and if you need a realtor, seriously, give Ronda Holder a call.  I’m not kidding.  She’s amazing.  Well, her son and her whole family are just as amazing.  When her oldest told his parents that he was ready to propose to the love of his life, she asked him about having someone there to capture the moment in pictures.  At first, he wasn’t so sure because this moment?  It’s special.  It’s priceless.  And it’s all theirs to be shared together, just the two of them.  But by the next day, he realized those were the exact reasons to have this moment captured in photos.  So, Ben and I headed to Clemson and waited behind the bushes trying to act cool and casual as all kinds of people strolled by.  At one point Ben told me that I looked too much like I was waiting on something.  Eeek!  We weren’t sure what direction they’d be coming from and I’d only seen photos of the two of them so I wasn’t even 100% sure if I’d recognize them!

So, I texted Ronda to see what Ryan was wearing.  And the next thing you know, I start jumping every time I see a guy in a long sleeved white shirt!  It was getting a little ridiculous and Ben found it quite amusing.

I knew they were running a little late, so when I saw this couple walk by the steps on the other end of the Carillon Gardens, I took a picture to zoom in and see if it was them.

It was!!!  They then walked back to the spot Ryan was planning to propose and I was trying to be as stealth as possible…

Before long, I saw him toss his jacket and umbrella aside and I knew he was about to go down on one knee!

SHE SAID YES!!!

Then I finally came out of hiding :-)

We chatted for a bit and before it even had time to sink in (it may still not have sunk in yet!), we took some engagement pictures!

Even in just the little bit of time we were able to spend with you guys, we can easily see how much you love each other and how EXCITED you are about this next step!

Love…

Molly… girl, you are beautiful!

Ryan… wow.  You did good, my friend!

I asked Molly if I could borrow her Clemson ring for a shot and told her these two rings were the most important in any Clemson girl’s life!

After 15 or so minutes, Ben and I said we needed to head out and I asked what they were up to for the rest of the day (even though I already knew!).  Ryan said they were going out to dinner, but it was a surprise to Molly.  So, we said congratulations again and headed to the car so we could get back to Greenville because their dinner that night was actually a surprise party at Ryan’s parents’ house!

She thought they were coming to get his parents and hopefully meet up with her parents…

This was SO much fun to be a part of and to capture!

Her mom and dad are SO sweet!  Her dad was videoing her reaction on his phone… love it!

Soon-to-be mother-in-law with the bride-to-be.

Her grandparents even drove down from NC for this.

Thank you guys SO MUCH for including me in SUCH a fun surprise!  Congratulations again, Molly and Ryan… you guys have such an incredible future ahead of you!