Some couples just ooze cool! And todays cute couple Marnie and Steve are no exception! I love how today’s sweet engagement shoot uses a variety of backgrounds and takes advantage of some incredible afternoon light to add some serious romance!
Beautifully photographed by the always amazing Captured by Keryn, these images are proof that when getting some shots for both your engagement shoot and wedding day, don’t write off an unexpected background idea! Enjoy xox
How did you meet?
Well it was a long long time ago and funnily enough we both have different memories of the first time we met! Essentially we were about 14 or 15 and our friend groups started hanging out – Steve actually dated my best friend first but we we got together at the beginning of our University years.
How did the engagement go down?
Steve had organised a surprise weekend away which I was immediately suspicious of! He wrote out an itinerary with three secret activities booked in – it was very cute. At 5am on Saturday morning we set out with our snowboards all packed up and instead of starting the long trek to Ruapehu (the decoy destination) we hopped on a plane to Christchurch.
First stop was Mt Hutt where we spent the day snowboarding (and drinking mulled wine) before heading across to Lake Tekapo where we booked into this gorgeous lake-front chalet. Steve had planned for us to go on a star watching tour (Lake Tekapo is home to one of the few star reserves in the world and we’re space nerds) but after an incredible blue sky day the clouds came over and the tour was cancelled.
So he had to quickly think up a ‘plan b’ which was room service and wine, followed by beer and chips at the local tavern watching the rugby before an incredible dinner at the lodge we were staying at. When we got back to the room we snuggled up and he pulled out his grandmother’s engagement ring – very romantic! The next day we explored lake Tekapo before heading off to Peel Forest to go horse riding and then spent the night in Christchurch and headed home the next morning.
How long had you been together before Steve popped the question?
This time around!! – two years. We got together when we were 19 and 20 and broke up three years later when we were on a bit of an OE in Canada. I stayed overseas for another year and a bit and Steve came home. We then had about four years apart but stayed best friends and got back together just over two years ago.
Have you started planning your big day yet?
We had been joking all year about having a New Year’s Eve wedding as a lot of our friends from overseas are coming home for the wedding of our best friends just before Christmas. So when Steve proposed we realised that if we really wanted to make this happen we’d have to get the ball rolling pretty quickly!
We’ve actually now decided on December 30th (as New Years was proving to be impossible for getting a band – a top priority for us) at my Mum’s land in Waipu. It’s going to be a very casual, yet glam haha, outdoorsy wedding. A big marquee and a big party really!
Nothing gives me more satisfaction than capturing the raw beauty that is in each person, allowing me to share this with the people that care about them the most.