Rocky Ridge Engagement Session: Eliza & Cole
Check out Eliza and Cole’s boho engagement session at Rocky Ridge Park in York County, PA! These two teachers had our hearts from the start.
“You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known – and even that is an understatement.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
You know those people who seem to have light emanating directly from their hearts? The ones who, just by being near them, make you feel happier. They make you feel lighter, more capable yet at ease all at once. The ones whose spirits never dampen regardless of what is happening in their own lives. Whose smiles light up everything and everyone around them. From the moment I met Eliza, it was immediately clear that she is one of these special souls.
And though I hadn’t yet met him in person, I got the distinct feeling Cole was as well just by the way Eliza beamed (even more so than usual) whenever she said his name or talked about their shared adventures. My hunch was confirmed when Cole contacted me in May to set up an engagement session. He wanted to surprise Eliza, and then further reinforced when I saw the two of them in action together last weekend.
You guys, the amount of adoration & genuine connection shared between these two was downright magical! They started spontaneously waltzing while I was finishing up a few detail shots of Eliza’s ring. These two truly bring out the best in one another ♡
Onto the love story…Part 1
Eliza & Cole’s proverbial paths first crossed while working at a summer camp in Loretto, PA in 2016. During one of the ice breaker activities, Eliza commented that she was a New York Mets fan, one of Cole’s favorite teams. However, it was when Eliza made a breakthrough with a camper having particular difficulty interacting with others that Cole realized how incredible she truly was. He confided in Eliza about his struggle to connect with this camper, a somewhat foreign feeling for Cole, as bonding with kids was always fairly easy for him.
“Before I could finish expressing my frustration, Eliza went over and started talking to the student and was getting him involved. That was genuinely the first moment I thought she [Eliza] was a really special person…I love how caring she is of others, & how she pushes herself to be the best version of herself”
Cole hadn’t gone unnoticed by Eliza either. Though she was dating someone else when she & Cole first met, Cole’s compassion, tenacity, & thoughtfulness won her over.
“Cole is determined to resolve conflicts. He doesn’t let anything settle unless it is truly resolved. This has led to him addressing both minor and serious conflicts with a boldness I aspire to have”
They became fast friends over the course of that summer &, according to Cole, both cried the day Eliza left for Chile to study abroad. They decided they wanted more than just friendship. So, the two Skyped almost every day she was overseas & made plans to meet in New York upon her return to the states. They were officially head-over-heels for one another.
Part 2: The Engagement
Cole & Eliza live in different cities, Eliza in York, PA and Cole in Saint Marys, PA. Luckily, they’re pros at making things work long distance! They planned a visit for an extended weekend. Little did Eliza know that Cole had a surprise up his sleeve. He enlisted the help of Eliza’s sister, brother, mother, and a friend of the family to help with the proposal. It was the three year anniversary of when they first met, & Cole asked Eliza on her front yard, where they had shared their first kiss.
“I surprised her by coming early, & asked for her sister & brother to have her ready for a photo shoot that she didn’t know was going to happen. When she looked outside, I was there with one white carnation (her favorite flower) & asked her right there!”
“Cue my siblings snapping pictures and the neighbor saying, ‘Awwww!'”
Part 3: The Journey
We are exactly one year away from celebrating the union of these two beautiful humans in matrimonial bliss, & I couldn’t be more excited to see where the next leg of their adventure takes them! Eliza & Cole, it was an absolute delight to witness you interact with such unabashed affection for one another during our session. The pure joy you two elicit from each other is contagious, & the tender adoration with which you look at each other is borderline transformative in its heartwarming effects (we’re talking Grinch’s-heart-tripling-in-size level feels over here, people!). Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your journey together!!!
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