I had way too fun with this Hood Park Engagement Session! I knew when I first skyped with Alyssa that we were going to make magic together, but once I got to meet JR and see the love these two had for each other, I was like a kid in a candy store. These two are ridiculously cute together, and I absolutely loved spending the evening with them at Hood Park!

The Couple

It all started years ago at the baseball diamond, at least for Alyssa. She had noticed JR at their brother’s baseball games, but it wasn’t until a few years after those first few times that sparks happened. Alyssa had a choir concert (which JR’s baseball-playing brother was also a part of) and afterwards he had thought they were all going to DQ, but his brother didn’t end up going. They ended up talking the entire time, and got her number after. After that, they would see each other at baseball games all the time, and then ever since, they have been best friends.

You can tell these two love spending time together and are such genuine people. It’s no wonder that JR’s proposal was PERFECT, and would make any girl say yes!

The Proposal

Alyssa knew that they were going to be getting married, she just didn’t know when it was going to happen. She knew that JR had been out ring shopping, and that things were kind of falling into place, but she was just anxiously waiting for it to happen.

It was just a regular day, except for the fact that Alyssa had stayed home from school because she was feeling a bit under the weather.  Luckily softball practice was cancelled too, so she didn’t have to worry about going to that, either. Alyssa’s friend (and Maid of Honor) asked her to go out to lunch with her, but because she wasn’t feeling good, she backed out of it, and just planned on staying home. Then one of her softball teammates called her to see if she would go to dinner with her so she could blow off some steam and talk.  The place they were going was right off the water, so she got out of her pajamas and she made herself look “sorta, kinda decent” [her words ha!] but she still looked sick. And felt sick. Her friends parked down the street which she didn’t think anything of, but she was thinking about how freezing it was walking down the street.

As she walked up to the restaurant, there he was. Her friends ducked behind a bush, she saw a photographer in a bush, and JR was dressed up, and not at work and then it all clicked what was happening. He led her down a path and assured her they were just “going for a walk” after she had asked him, holding back tears; “why are you here?” and laughing. They ended up on the dock lined with vases filled with sunflowers (her favorite flower). All she could think was “this is a dream. This isn’t happening right now!?” They got down to the end of the dock which was a special place for them. The place where they had their first kiss, and where he gave her a promise ring. He grabbed her by the hands and looked into her eyes, told her a lot of sweet things, but the biggest part that stuck out to her was when he told her that he wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Then he got down on one knee and asked the big question.

“Will you marry me?”

With tears in her eyes, she nodded and said yes, but then she turned around to see her best friend, taking pictures along side the photographer he had hired, as well as their families on the porch of the restaurant, cheering and celebrating along with them.  They hugged family, she showed off the ring, and then they had lunch and celebrated with those people most close to them. It was a great day!

Hood Park Engagement Session

As you leave Tri-cities on Highway 12 towards Walla Walla, when you cross the bridge over the Snake River you just get a small view of Hood Park. I shot a wedding over in Walla Walla a few weeks ago, and as I saw the park, I knew it would be the perfect location for an engagement shoot, and I was in luck because Alyssa and JR’s was coming up quick. I have my go-to locations around Tri-cities that I love, but often the problem is that it’s a well known spot and I’m not the only photographer there. I would prefer somewhere off the beaten path, and not to fight for a specific spot, so we chose the later. I was a little worried because the forecast was calling for a 100+ degree day, but fortunately for us, Hood Park is pretty dense and we were able to find an ample amount of shade, and it had cooled down quite a bit by the time we got started.

We really just had the perfect light, an ADORABLE couple, and we had a ton of fun together. One of my FAVORITE parts of this job is when my clients come up to me after their shoot and tell me how fun it was, that it was better than they imagined, and how they can’t wait for their wedding day! This shoot was no different.

So, thanks SO much JR and Alyssa (and their entourage) for spending the evening with me! It was hard narrowing it down to these images because they all turned out so great, and I cannot wait for your wedding day this fall! It’s going to be AMAZING!