The Best Question: Proposal Story (Part 2)

Thanks for stopping in for part 2 of our engagement story!

At the end of part 1 I warned you that our weekend didn't end in the meadow, and it certainly did not! Andy had a few more surprises up his sleeve. When we were heading back into town, he told me that his godparents just so happened to be in Flag as well, and that we were going to stop by their house to say hi and celebrate the good news with them. I was just beside myself with excitement, and somehow Andy convinced me to hold off calling all our our friends and family for a bit longer (after I called my mom, of course. She cried). To my pure shock and amazement, when we pulled up to the house there was a huge group of people waiting for us!! Parents and godparents and friends were there, as well as his sister who flew into AZ for the event! Rennai had made it back in time to snap a ton of pictures of our arrival, which I greatly appreciate. After hugging everyone (multiple times), we headed inside for champagne toasts, caviar (my first time having it - yum!), and story telling. We told our story and our loved ones shared how well they had been keeping this all a secret for a MONTH. We skyped in my dad and brothers who couldn't make it, and I am so thankful to technology for allowing them all to be a part of such a special day. My parents had brought up an overnight bag, and it was arranged for everyone to stay the night and enjoy an incredible steak dinner, more celebrating, and simply time in the beauty that is Flagstaff. Seriously, props to my man for planning and executing such a wonderful event, and for our families and friends for joining us and being so wonderful. I am truly blessed and very spoiled.

All photos taken by Rennai Hoefer of ten22 studio

Our generous hosts. Thank you!!

I can't WAIT to marry my best friend. I love him so much. Thanks for everything, darling. <3

<3 Laurynn Elise

P.S. Check out part 3 where I show you the adorable engagement session that Rennai shot for us! 

The Best Question: Proposal Story (Part 1)

"I want to be with you forever." 

These are the words that every girl dreams about hearing from the man of her dreams. This weekend, I heard those words from my very own prince charming as he asked me to spend that forever with him.  My love for this amazing man of God grows more and more every day, and the fact that we get to spend the rest of our lives together is beyond amazing. I am truly the luckiest girl in the world.

This Saturday, Andy picked me up to go on a photography day trip that we had planned for a few weeks. The idea (or so I thought), was just to get out of the heat and the city, get some fresh air, and take a ton of pictures. We left at 7:30 and grabbed ourselves some Starbucks on the way.

Once we got into Flagstaff, Andy told me that he wanted to take me to a meadow that we visited on our last trip back in the fall. We had a lot of fun on that trip and took some of our favorite pictures in that meadow.

September 2012

We weren't sure if we would find the meadow, but Andy did his homework and found it thanks to some Sherlock Holmes detective skills and a keep eye for Google maps. We pulled into our meadow and had some fun walking around and taking pictures of each other. Andy wanted to learn how to use my camera (he used to shoot in film), so I gave him a crash course under a tree.

Gosh, he's handsome.

 

What I didn't know at this point was that our friend Rennai was hiding incognito behind a stump just a few feet away from us! Andy had asked her to hide out and catch some pictures of us. While she didn't catch the actual proposal (he wanted to be spontaneous so when we headed back to the car for the picnic blanket she took the opportunity to sprint out of the meadow so she could beat us to our next destination, which you'll see!), she caught some really cute pictures of us hanging out! 

Photo by ten22 studio

Photo by ten22 studio

Photo by ten22 studio

 Andy packed a lunch and a picnic blanket for us to have in the meadow, so we set up our little feast and had yummy chicken salad wraps. He even fed me grapes! 

After we finished eating, I was lying down with my head on his lap and we sat enjoying the moment for a bit. He leaned down, kissed me, and told me that I was a treasure and that he wanted to be with me forever. When he sat back up, he slipped a ring on my finger and asked me to marry him! I (of course) said yes! After some happy tears, lots of hugging and kissing, and a victory lap around the meadow (do you blame me?), we set up my tripod and took some reenactment photos. :) 

The weekend did not end there!! Go check out part two of our engagement story!! 

<3 Laurynn Elise

"I have found the one my soul loves." Song of Solomon 3:4

TBT: Trip up the mountain :)

Back when I first got my new camera, Andy and I decided to take a little trip up a "mountain" (people from outside Arizona tend to call them hills. Not sure why.) ;) We caught a sunset and took some tripod-less selfies and had a fun time! Here's pictures from that day:

<3 Laurynn Elise

Tutorial Tuesday: Faux Bob!

 Happy Tutorial Tuesday!!

This technically still counts as Tuesday right? ;) I'll justify by saying that I spent the majority of today filming and editing tutorials, so that makes up for my tardiness. Anyway, on to this fun tutorial! As requested by Allora over at "The Best is Yet to Come" (She's awesome, go read her stuff), today's tute is all about turning your long hair into a cute short look that makes everyone think you chopped your hair off! Okay maybe not that dramatic (wait until I show you how to fake a pixie cut!), but it's a really great summer look and a good way to change it up if you're getting in a hair-do rut. Without further ado, here it is! 

<3 Laurynn Elise