Leah & Chuck are one of the most entertaining couples I have ever photographed! From the start, Chuck was making Leah laugh which is perfect to capture in an engagement shoot! We walked around downtown Baltimore near their house. These two couldn't stop loving on each other and it made my job so easy! After walking around downtown, we went back to their house for a little crab feast. It's not a Maryland shoot without crabs and Natty Boh!
Here is a the sweet engagement story from Leah's perspective:
One morning before work, I woke up very annoyed to a text message from my brother way before my alarm went off. It said something along the lines of "May 15th, mark your calendar!" With hazy eyes, I looked at my schedule and thought, "That's aWednesday? What could possibly be going on that Wednesday where I need to mark my calendar?" ... BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. That's what. Anyone who knows my family knows how much we love Springsteen! ... And to top it off, it was Springsteen at HERSHEY PARK! Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love Springsteen AND chocolate; so I was pumped and counted down the days for months!
On May 14th, we started off our trip heading to PA the night before the concert to spend the night at Chuck's cousin's house near Hershey. The next day, we needed to be at Chocolate World at 1 o'clock sharp because we had tickets to make our own candy bar! (Yum) There was a large group of us meeting - my parents (Robin and Leo), my brother (Ryan) and his wife (Lindsey), my nieces (Cameron and Addison), Chuck's parents (Donna and Bud), Chuck's sister (Cristina), and Lindsey's parents (Joanne and Steve).
As we walked through the factory, Chuck made sure I was last in line (which, I thought was awkward because I was excited and I wanted to be in the front). As we neared the end of the line, everyone received their candy bar in their personalized wrappers in a nice Hershey bag. I could smell sweet chocolate in my future. But, I was given a large candy bar wrapped in aluminum foil in a Hershey bag. As I was thinking "hmmm, this is weird..." the woman working at Hershey made an announcement - "As a summer promotion, someone in our 1 o'clock tour gets a special candy bar! Open to see if it's you!"
It was ME!! My chocolate bar was a huge milk chocolate piece of heaven, and written in sweet white chocolate, it said "Will you marry me?" Being the awkward person I am, I reverted to humor and immediately said "Wait, I didn't make this candy bar!" Everyone had cameras, and everyone was so excited. Chuck got down on his knee and opened a little black box with a sparkly ring. It was a bit overwhelming, but it was perfect. Chuck worked with the managers at Chocolate World to make it happen - however, he also called Springsteen's manager to work some magic, but they told him "hahahaha!... we get this request all of the time... Good try, buddy. No." (I appreciate the effort!!!)
After the proposal, the families spent time together tailgating before the concert to celebrate the occasion with champagne, ginormous cupcakes, lots of food, and corn hole. Chuck's family, Lindsey's parents, and my nieces left to go home before the concert, but it meant a lot to have everyone there! We jammed the night away and Chuck surprised me with a room at Hershey Hotel, flowers, room service breakfast the next day, and a day off of work!
It was a perfect day that started the perfect beginning to the new chapter in our lives, and I can't wait to live the rest of our story! "Baby, we were born to run!"
Congrats to Leah & Chuck on their engagement!! Can't wait to shoot their wedding in September 2015!
