Engaged! | Vieques, Puerto Rico Engagement

A month ago Matthew and I took a flight to Vieques, Puerto Rico. We were there for almost a week to capture a beautiful island wedding and to catch some much needed time in the sun. I knew that the trip was going to be memorable and life felt like it was right where it should be. What I didn’t know at the time is that Matthew had a very special gift that he wanted to give to me. (He had planned to give it to me over a month before but his plans were disrupted and he decided to wait it out. We are both so thankful he did!) Matthew had been waiting for several months for the right moment and he certainly found it on a gorgeous walk of beach between two bays, one on each side of us. Matthew asked me to be his wife, to spend the rest of our lives together, and I said yes!

I was a little concerned, as I was on the island for more that just a vacation, I was there to photograph a beautiful wedding to an amazing couple. We did not want to take away from their special day. We also wanted to keep the engagement to ourselves so we could share the news in person or over the phone with our closest friends and family. With the Facebook age this takes some skill to master, but we were able to pull it off. Although we did have a couple close calls! I told Anna the news before it went online and she had the kindest words to say, “The island is truly a magical place, and I’m so happy that you two captured some of that for your own love story. It doesn’t take away anything from our time – if anything it emphasizes how beautiful relationships can still be in this age of chaos.” The island truly is a magical place and I am thankful for the opportunity to include it into our history as well.

During our trip we received the happy news that Matthew’s mother could continue her treatment for pancreatic cancer. Sadly, last Friday, the morning after we made the announcement officially online, we were told that Matthew’s mother would be starting hospice. It could be a matter of days or weeks. We are so overwhelmed by the love and support from everyone, first with our happy news, and now for the support of this sad event. Thankfully, I know that through all of this, we are in it together and stronger than ever.

We went back for some pictures on our last free night on the island. We had to take a few well timed portraits to remember this special place in our history together. As a side note, this is going to be a wonderful and unique experience getting to know the wedding industry from the other side as a bride. This wedding photographer is going to be planning a wedding of her own! Rght now we’re not planning anything, just soaking this moment in.