This post is going to show you how behind I am in blogging… it’s from early August. I keep up with weddings for the most part, but I am so sorry about other sessions! ha
Anyway…this is Kim and Mike. They are pretty darn cool…even in the scorchingly humid temps that were present at their session. I was so excited that they picked Antioch Park for their engagement session because I shoot there a lot for fam sessions etc, but have always wanted to do an engagement session there.
If you looked at Mike and were to guess his occupation, you might actually guess that he’d be involved in sports in some way. And you’d be right. He has a really cool gig, actually…he’s the Recruiting Coordinator, Defensive Line Coach and Academics Coordinator for Emporia State University!
Their love story begins in 2009… well, their STORY begins in 2009. Kim worked at Dairy Queen and let’s just say Mike had an affinity for ice cream. Every Sunday evening. (My parents eat ice cream on Sundays as their ritual too, Mike! So they totally get it! 😉 ) So yes, small talk through a drive-thru window one night a week for nearly a year. In April of 2010, Kim went out with some friends to the same bar that Mike and his buddies were chilling out. Turns out, Mike was pals with one of Kim’s and with some liquid courage, Mike was able to go a bit beyond the usual banter with Kim. And a few nights later, he called Kim to go on a real date!
Kim jokes that she knew Mike was the one when she found out he was a pretty good cook. (She actually cites his ability to SHOW her he loves her so easily and that sealed the deal for her.) Mike, however, gives majors props to Kim because she handles his ups and downs of football season like a champ. (Gosh, there are soooo many sports pun(t)s we could make in this blog post, but I’m going to prevent you all from penalizing me (ha, I couldn’t help it!!) and continue on.)
Their engagement story made me giggle in the way that Mike tells it in his own words:
When I was thinking about proposing I really wanted to do something surprising. I had always wanted to incorporate Morgan, the friend that introduced us at the bar. So I set up a trip to San Antonio where Morgan lives, for Spring break because Kim had always wanted to go see her but never had the chance. I had planned on asking her on while we were down there on Saturday evening but that was St. Patrick’s Day. The Riverwalk was pack and many obstacles deterred my plan. So I then had to tell Morgan the plan, which is never a good idea, and she was now in on the festivities. I had been asking to get some cowboy boots so Morgan helped me get back down to the Riverwalk to look for boots. Therefore Kim didn’t clean up at all and she was wearing gym clothes, which I thought was perfect! Kim went along with the idea of boots and we were off. It was Sunday morning around 11:00 AM and there we were walking along the Riverwalk. I had never been more nervous than I was at this moment. There was a landing that looked out onto the River that I had spotted the day before. So I guided Kim up the stairs and to the landing using a BS excuse that she bought. At that point I couldn’t stop shaking and was kind of stuck. Luckily Kim noticed a squirrel that came pretty close to and she knelt to pet the thing. “Who pets a squirrel, RIGHT?” haha, but it saved me!! She then turned around and I went down onto my knee and asked her the famous question, “Will you marry me?” At this point usually you will get an answer but Kim only kept saying, “Are you kidding me right now?” over and over. I stayed on my knee for about 20 seconds before she finally said yes and I stood up with a huge sigh of relief and we then hugged!!! The best part of it was that we were able to get it on video because Morgan and her boyfriend were there to record it all!!!
They are getting hitched in Emporia next June,, and I’m already looking forward to spending some time with these two again! Here are some of my faves from their session. 🙂
Darbi's Mom - These pictures are priceless! Evan is just adorable! Such a cute little family! Darbi, you did a beautiful job capturing so many precious shots of Gina, Zach and Evan!