{To Be Weds} Anne Marie & Paul

Sometimes, my photogenic and fun clients attract fun and photogenic friends. And when those friends turn to me to document their love story, I am thrilled.

Case in point … Remember the beautiful Kate & Jeff? Well, they are best chums with Anne Marie and Paul. And as you can see, the foursome clearly must spend their weekends going out and about and practicing being AMAZING in front of the camera. 😉

But Anne Marie and Paul also have another tie in with me… Paul is the baby bro of one of my dear friends Gina. And her lil’ guy, who will be on the blog later this month, is going to be the ring-bearer for AM & Paul’s October wedding.

These two are downright goofy. And at the core of their fun-loving selves is a very obvious friendship. They met their sophomore year of college when Paul (who is super smart when it comes to figuring out a way to meet cute girls…) was the house boy for AM’s sorority. He spent lunch AND dinner time at the Alpha Chi Omega house serving meals to the ladies. And they both were in the same business fraternity, so Paul took his services a step further and played chauffeur for AM whenever they had a meeting to go to. AM had a hunch that he was really into her because he was so willing to do that without complaining. And she also was pretty sure he was “the one”….

Paul was pretty sure of AM’s place in his life as well, and wanted to secure it via a proposal. Having two older sisters, Paul definitely has the gift of romance. So to carry out his plan, he booked Cafe Beautiful. For those who don’t know what that is… it’s a super-intimate restaurant in LAwrence, KS, run by one man and one man only. From food prep to serving it, Chef Suken does it all. Only two tables are available, so of course it’s hard to get reservations. But it has a special place in the couple’s life.  Of course, AM was ecstatic when she learned that was where they were going on a much-needed date. But they got there only to find a sign on the door that read: “Restaurant closed due to chef emergency.” Disappointment was definitely on the new menu for AM and Paul, but Paul swallowed his frustration and did what any about-to-propose guy should do–he improvised.

He gave AM three options: A: drive back to KC and have dinner somewhere there; B: Have dinner somewhere else on Mass Street; or C: Grab take-out food and go out to Clinton Lake for a picnic. Since the weather was quite lovely for October, AM opted for C. They grabbed some Latin American takeout and a bottle of wine and hiked to the top of hill that overlooked the lake. Once their tummies were full, and with the sun setting, Paul started talking about how perfect AM is for him. He concluded his romantic musings with a drop to the knee and a gorgeous diamond ring. Of course there were tears on AM’s behalf, and a huge YES!

And the night didn’t end there. After all, there was still dessert to be had! So back to KC they headed and along the way, AM called anyone she could think of to share the news. This wasn’t really necessary because unbeknownst to AM until they arrived at Michael Smith’s restaurant for dessert, Paul had family and friends waiting in the basement where a friend’s design studio is located. The fourth course for the evening proved to be delicious indeed–a surprise of champagne, laughing, cake and pure excitement with all their friends and family.

The perfect engagement, right? 😉 And they deserve it. Because me thinks they are also picture perfect. 😉

Enjoy this session…we started at the lofts where they live and just walked around the block….

So you agree right? They are BEAUTIFUL. I cannot wait for their wedding!!!!!!!