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I had so much fun photographing Meagan and Alan near Southport Beach for their engagement session last week! They met nearby at the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport and are getting married at The Inn at Longshore in Westport next year. We had originally planned to take their engagement photos at Harkness Memorial State Park, but it was unfortunately closed on their session date due to a heavy rainstorm the night before. Being eager to keep their engagement session date, it only made sense they chose Southport as their backup location! We walked around the gorgeous neighborhood that surrounds the beach and yacht club, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and late summer weather. Luckily many of the flowers were still in bloom and the warm, sea salt air provided us with a wonderful breeze.

Meagan's favorite time of year is the Christmas season and decorating the tree. About a year ago, Meagan and Alan moved into their first home together. Despite the 90-degree summer heat and countless moving boxes, all she could talk about was getting their first Christmas tree together. Through their crazy work schedules, they finally found a date that would allow them to get their first tree one evening last December. Knowing it's Meagan's favorite time of year, Alan had decided to make a night of the tree decorating and cook a romantic dinner as well. On that Friday morning, Alan went through his normal routine with Meagan as if he were headed to work. He even walked out the door and drove to work (or so Meagan thought)! In the meantime, Megan had been working on a grand presentation for work that she had been stressing over. While Alan was making sure the floral arrangements and all other details were going to be in place and according to plan, Meagan decided to work late to finish her presentation, figuring Alan wouldn't be home until just before 6:00 anyway. Since he had in fact taken the day off from work, he was frantic when Meagan didn't arrive home at her normal time that evening. Alan called her wondering where she was and explained he had left work early (as not to raise any suspicions) so they could pick out their tree together at the local tree farm. Meagan knew she wouldn't make it to the farm before it closed, so she asked Alan to go to Lowes to pick a tree and they'd decorate together when she got home. As Meagan says, "Alan agreed to go and get the tree by himself. He showed no signs of disappointment as, by this point in our relationship, he was used to me ruining his plans." When she arrived home, the oven was on, the tree was in the stand and the ornaments were neatly placed next to the tree. Alan had prepared an incredible charcuterie and cheese plate and poured them each a glass of Pinot as he cooked dinner while Meagan started decorating the tree. After the lights and ornaments were on, Alan asked Meagan to sit down and choose a movie as dinner finished cooking. As it turns out, she realized they didn't have an angel or tree skirt and convinced Alan they needed them that night! Without hesitation, he turned off the oven and told her they would run out to HomeGoods. After walking the aisles for thirty minutes and browsing more than just tree toppers and tree skirts, Alan convinced Meagan she had found the perfect ones, despite her believing they needed to go to The Christmas Tree Shop to see what options were there. After returning home and enjoying dinner together, it was time to relax and watch a movie. Right before Meagan started the movie, Alan told her he had gotten her a gift. Meagan guessed it was an ornament, but jokingly said, "This doesn't feel like a ring box to me!" It was, in fact, an ornament that read, Alan & Meagan, Engaged, 2016. By the time she realized what was going on, Alan was down on one knee and asked Meagan to marry him!

I'm so excited to celebrate these two sweet souls next August at The Inn at Longshore! Congratulations Meagan and Alan!

When did you know you'd found "the one"?

Meagan: "Spending the day running errands together on our second date. If that was that fun, I couldn't imagine what was next."

Alan: "The first time we had a casual date, just hanging out, eating pizza and running errands. I knew I could do that for the rest of my life."