Happy Monday to y’all :D.
I loved sharing these enchanting sneak peeks of Austin and Kara’s engagement session last month and now y’all get to see the rest! ๐
I met Kara 2 years ago at a summer photography internship my friend Jessica Shae held! (I was there for an alumni refresher course :). I was one of Jessica’s first interns! ๐ ). I remember being struck by her beauty and her sweet, kind spirit, but she was also fun :D. We’ve stayed friends ever since and now she’s getting married!! And I shot her engagement pictures! And I’ll be shooting her wedding May 30!! (This is actually my first time to shoot a couple’s engagement pictures AND wedding! Super fun :D).
Let’s go ahead and hear how the Lord brought them together, shall we? ๐
In Kara’s words :)…
students at Austinโs church in Arizona in January of 2014. Austin
and I had both attended the same conference the previous year and
recognized each other. We ran into each other the first night of the
conference and both remembered each other from the year before.
(Just a side note: Austin says he actually introduced himself to me
at the previous conference, but for some reason I have no
recollection of that.) The next day at the conference, Austin came
and talked to me a lot. My friends noticed that he was paying me a
significant amount of attention but I was totally oblivious. By the
end of the conference, he asked for my number, which totally caught
me off guard, but we exchanged contact info and thus began a steady
stream of communication. When I got back home to Texas, I
immediately told my parents about him. At that point, I wasnโt
sure if he was just being friendly or if he was interested in me.
After three days of texting, I was still not sure where he was coming
from. Were we just becoming friends or was he trying to get
somewhere? Iโm not a big texter, so it was unusual for me to be in
such constant communication with someone, especially a guy that I
didnโt know very well at all. I decided to just come right out and
let him know that I had enjoyed getting to know him at the conference
but that I just wasnโt comfortable with our level of texting unless
there was something more intentional going on. (Deep down, the idea
of him maybe possibly being interested in me made me happy, but I
just didnโt know!) I was surprised and excited when he responded
to my text saying that he WAS interested in getting to know me more
intentionally and he asked if he could have my dadโs number so that
he could get his permission to continue our communication. I eagerly
let my parents know about this new development and my dad said that I
could pass his number on to Austin. The two of them talked the next
day, just 5 days after we had met! Austin just asked for permission
to get to know me better and said that he didnโt want me to feel
any pressure of this being a ‘relationship’ yet. My dad gave him
the green light, and thus began a long stream of texts that lead to
emails, which eventually lead to phone calls. After two months of
talking, and so far really enjoying each other, we decided that it
would be good to actually see each other again. We planned a trip
over our Spring Break in March. The trip went really well and on
March 8th, we decided to make our relationship ‘official.’
For the next several months (8 months and 20 days to be exact) we
made many trips between Dallas and Phoenix, talked on the phone,
texted A LOT, got to know each other, and fell in love. On November
28th Austin pulled off THE most romantic proposals and
asked me to be his forever. I said yes, and here we are!”
<3 ๐
๐
Hehe ๐
Love this moment <3
I asked Kara to describe Austin and what she loved about him :).
“The first things I noticed about Austin
were his genuine love for others and his muscles (haha, donโt judge
me.) As unrelated as those two things may seem, I think in many ways
they show the uniqueness of Austinโs personality. He is extremely
masculine and strong. He is an incredibly hard worker and a great
leader. On the flip side, he is one of the most friendly,
tenderhearted people I have ever known. I think it is a rare thing
for a guy to possess such strength and yet be so kind and gentle. I
love that about him. God knew that that is exactly the kind of man I
need someone who will lead me firmly but care for me so tenderly at
the same time. I have yet to seen another man display the kind of
love and affection that Austin shows to me. As clichรฉ as it sounds,
he really does treat me like a princess. Not in a push over kind of
way, but in a deeply tender, protective way. Another thing that
really attracted me to him is his deep love for Jesus and the church.
He pursues Christ passionately and loves being a part of His body.
He is faithful to bring me scripture to encourage me or gently help
me in areas where I struggle. He cares deeply for my soul and I
cannot begin to say how much that means to me. I also just love his
personality. He is always making me laugh and we have so much fun
together. Goodness, I could go on and on. Bottom line, I could not
be more thankful for Austin and I still catch myself wondering if
this is real life. God is so incredibly kind.”
I asked Austin the same thing about Kara :).
“Gosh, where do I start? There is so much I could say about my dear Kara. She is my Sweetheart. She is everything in a woman and actually way more than I could have ever imagined or hoped for in a girl. Not only is she the most beautiful girl that I know because of outside appearance and attraction but I also love the inside of Kara. Her heart is what I treasure the most. She is on fire for Christ and I can always rely on her to point me to the cross when I fall short. Kara is very smart! I am very proud of her as she is such a diligent young lady whether it be in school or work. Kara blows my mind away every single day. She is a gift that I shall never take for granted. One of the many characteristics that I love about Kara is her heart to serve. She serves me so well and is so humble when doing that she often serves me without looking to be noticed. I simply don’t deserve her but I am so grateful that God has placed her in my life and I would not trade her for anything in this world. One of the other big things that I also appreciate about her is that she is very athletic, outgoing, spontaneous, and isn’t afraid to get dirty. That to me, is so attractive because something I was looking for in a woman was someone who is beautiful but could be herself and enjoy life. Kara is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, although she is not a diva and enjoys life at the same time. I think that is very rare to find in a woman because usually it’s either one or the other. I could go on about Kara but one thing is for sure and that is that I could not ask God for a better woman in my life because He has already given me the best one of all. I consider myself the happiest and most blessed man in the world and I could not imagine life without my sweetheart.”
Looking amazing in the clover…
Then the tickling began. Haha ๐
Love it ๐
Mmm ๐
Austin picks her up like she weighs no more than a leaf. It’s awesome. Haha :D. Probably her favorite mode of transport across rough terrain, I’d say ;).
Now, we got off to a slightly later start, so we were chasing the light wherever we went. Our path lead us to this random field adjacent to the park and I stopped. The light!! I wonder if we could climb the gate. I voiced these thoughts and they were all for it! Hooray :D. So, we climbed the gate, made our way slowly up the muddy hill (it was muddy pretty much everywhere though. Haha), and started capturing the glory!
After I shared this particular picture on facebook when I got home, Kara commented with this picture that had great similarities; yes!! Haha. I really am thankful this turned out so beautifully. Hooray for spontaneous ideas and God blessing :D.
Bliss ๐
As we walked further into the field, we noticed there was a horse! It noticed us too. Haha. We wondered if it would be friendly and come over for us to pet and maybe get in on a few shots! We were wrong. Haha. The protective horse did not like our presence. He pranced back and forth a few times, snorting angrily at us, then began to charge!! Soooo, we ran. Haha. We got back to the gate and quickly climbed over to safety. Haha. Nice little adrenaline rush! Hehe :D.
Kara attempted calling to the horse (she loves horses), but he never came.
Made pretty pictures though! ๐
I told them to pretend they were looking over their ranch ;).
Loooove :D.
Kara noticed all the mud on her sandals and Austin immediately took the job of cleaning them on the “Watch out for snakes” sign. Haha :D. We decided to blame the dirty sign on the snakes ;). Haha.
I love this shot.
After Austin kissing Kara on her forehead quite often, he finally got a turn. Hehe ๐
(gasp)
I just love them together.
love going on walks or runs together, hiking, biking, playing
frisbee, and pretty much anything that involves being active or
outdoors. We also enjoy just hanging out at home, watching movies,
playing games or just talking together. (we can talk for hours on
end!)”
๐
I thought we were done, but then I saw this puddle! Had to try some reflection shots ๐
<3
Then more ideas came to mind ;).
Austin: “Hey! What about this!”
Yes. Hehe ๐
Austin: “Throw your hair back!”
Hehe :D. He loves her hair, by the way :D. Who doesn’t?! It’s glorious!
These two make an awesome pair and I’m so thankful and excited to be apart of this time in their lives :D. Love y’all!
With a smile,
So many stunning pictures of this precious couple! <3
These pictures are gorgeous, Rachel!
These are all stunning! What a sweet couple. Fantastic job, Rachel!
Awwwwwww!!! These two are ADORABLE. And your pictures are simply gorgeous. I love a lot of them, but I especially loved your puddle-reflection shot. ๐
Can't wait to see their wedding!!
Oh Rachel, these are gorgeous and what a good looking couple. ๐ Great job!
Emily
These pictures are wonderful, Rachel! I loved getting to read their story (wow, 5 days!) and what they love about each other too! So sweet! God is good!!!
Gahh, these are so cuuuuute!!!!
What beautiful pictures! Austin and Kara's love for each other is very evident! I am so happy for them!
I just attended a wedding here and despite my absolutely strict taste, I had an amazing experience here and I thought to myself that these Los Angeles wedding venues are perfect! Their food is delicious and the ambiance is elegant.