Sara & Mike | Engagement Session



Sara and Mike, who met through mutual friends after moving in the same Washington D.C. circles for years, plan to say “I do” with the help of Charleston’s Gregory Blake Sams Events in the coming months. In the meantime, they shared their charmer of an engagement photo shoot with all of us. But before you dive into those sumptuous shots, get a load of their proposal story. Sometimes it’s best to get a story straight from the groom-to-be’s mouth.

Mike: I had the ring hidden in our D.C. apartment for weeks and convinced Sara that it made sense that year for us to spend Christmas separately with our respective families, me in Connecticut and her in Ohio. What I didn’t tell her was that I had a plane ticket from Connecticut to Ohio on Christmas Eve. I arrived in her hometown during a fairly serious snowstorm and proceeded to the hotel. I had looped her brothers in on the surprise, knowing her mom would most likely have let the cat out of the bag. On Christmas morning, I called the boys to make sure Sara was up and showered and dressed for their big family brunch. I had given Sara a card before we left D.C. and asked her to read it on Christmas morning. I called her (from outside her parents’ house) and asked her to read the card; as I approached the front door she read the last line that said, “Oh and by the way, you have a gift at the front door,” and I rang the doorbell. The rest is kind of a blur, but I saw a picture of myself on a knee and people told me she said “Yes,” so I think it worked out pretty well.     

Venue: The Mills House | Images: Catherine Ann Photography | Planner: Gregory Blake Sams Events

The Wedding Row

November 14 2018
Just as you fall for your spouse-to-be, you can fall for the place where you’ll say “I do.” Need a little empirical evidence? Ask Kate Perry and Sabine Beaurain of Fabulous Fête about walking Chelsea...

November 13 2018
Getting a ring wasn’t top of mind for Lauren when she was trying to come up with New Year’s Eve 2017 plans with her boyfriend, Rick, but he sure had his own plan in the works. For the holiday, they...

November 12 2018
The Wedding Row: How did you and Ben meet? Jamie: Ben and I met when I was about to graduate law school from the University of Alabama and he was working in Birmingham. I was about to move back to...

November 9 2018
We admit we have a soft spot for Hannah Alyssa Photography (back when she was just out of school Hannah worked with us at Charleston Weddings), but it’s totally guilt-free because she’s just so darn...

November 8 2018
Everyone wants their Big Day to be memorable and Emily, a Seattle gal, and Robby, a machinist in the Navy, surely won’t forget theirs. It started off with the first look in Hampton Park, which was...

November 7 2018
What do you get when you combine an Emily Kotarski wedding gown with a gorgeous crown from Emma Katzka and a bouquet of eucalyptus, roses, and pink queen protea? The ultimate Boho look. For this...

November 6 2018
After a couple of rescheduled blind dates, Torrey and Ryan met for drinks; drinks turned to dinner, dinner turned into after-dinner drinks, and … well, let’s just say two years later they had moved...

November 5 2018
Ahhh, Boone Hall Plantation. While this spectacular venue is widely known for its infamous scenes in Nicholas Sparks’ film “The Notebook,” and as the setting of Hollywood hotshots Blake Lively and...