It’s always a plus when my work takes me somewhere new, even if that “somewhere new” is a place pretty much every person from North Carolina over the age of 15 (except me) has been at least once. In this case: Chapel Hill and the campus of UNC. I was there to shoot an engagement session for Mary Kathryn and Blake, both of whom went to the University and wanted to commemorate some of their favorite places in their photos. To prep for the shoot, I’d asked Mary Kathryn to send me a list of places that were meaningful to them. I made sure to arrive in town a couple of hours early to scout things out. In no time, I had a plan.
We started things off at the Coker Arboretum, and it turned out that neither Mary Kathryn nor Blake had visited the site much while in school. The arboretum was small but lovely, and I think the images we captured there are so beautiful. Next we hit the Davie Poplar and the Davie Bench, which everyone at UNC apparently just calls the Kissing Bench. As legend has it, if you kiss your sweetie while sitting on the bench, the two of you will end up married. From there, we made our way to the Old Well, which is surrounded by its own ocean of lore. Apparently, anyone who takes a drink from the fountain on his or her first day of college will earn straight A’s—which worked out great for Mary Kathryn–not so much for Blake. We finished up at He’s Not Here, on Franklin Street, Mary Kathryn and Blake’s favorite bar while they were in school.
A little about Blake and Mary Kathryn. These two sweethearts met while they were in high school. There was just something about the scintillating environment of their economics class that drew them together… At any rate, their relationship continued on into college, where they both ended up declaring Econ majors. These two love to laugh, and appreciate each others’ sense of humor above all. Their perfect weekend would be spent hiking in the mountains and cooking great food.
When Blake proposed, he and Mary Katheryn had just finished up a delicious lunch and wine tasting at Hanna Winery and Vineyards in Sonoma, California. After the meal, the two went for a walk through the vineyards, and the next thing Mary Katheryn knew, Blake was down on one knee. The ring Blake chose (all on his own!) is just gorgeous. It’s a round cut diamond encircled by smaller diamonds.
I had such a great time getting to know these two better. They were playful and sweet with one another, and I loved having the chance to capture these images of them in a place they hold so dear.
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