Roanoke Engagement Photographer

Engagement portraits at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia - Kristin & Shawn

Engagement portraits at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia - Kristin & Shawn

When I met with Kristin & Shawn for their engagement portraits they were really excited and at the same time they were visibly nervous.

Sometimes we are raised with the idea that portraits have to be straight forward, looking at the camera, fake, cheesy smiles. And even though I go over the process with all of my couples, those first 10 minutes sometimes can be intimidating… On the contrary though, Kristin & Shawn got comfortable by spending a relaxing late afternoon at the lake, knowing that they were going to be doing one of their favorite hobbies, spending quality time with each at one of their favorite locations, Smith Mountain Lake.

Here is a little bit about them!
How did you meet?: We met in a class at Virginia Tech. (Go Hokies!) we were in a group for small business management and our other two partners were of NO help. It was just often us two working on it and our relationship grew from there!

In home Engagement Portraits in Roanoke, Virginia - Katie & Sean

In home Engagement Portraits in Roanoke, Virginia - Katie & Sean

Like a lot of couples nowadays, Katie & Sean met on tinder. It was immediately a match.

Not long after, they were visiting some friends in Houston, Texas and they were having dinner at this unique restaurant called, One Fifth. When this restaurant first opened they were given the lease for only five years and the owner of the restaurant liked the challenge, so he decided to have a different theme each year. (That’s where the name One Fifth came from!) They open in September with a new theme, go through til the end of July, then close the restaurant to do renovations so they can present the new one again the next September.

When Katie & Sean were there the theme was “Romance Languages”, which was the perfect one for a proposal! Katie said “we sat down to eat, then right after Sean was ordering champagne to do a toast and then all at a sudden he was proposing!”

Blue Ridge Parkway Engagement - Roanoke, Virginia - Andrea & Tyler

Blue Ridge Parkway Engagement - Roanoke, Virginia - Andrea & Tyler

The first time I met Andrea, she was the bridesmaid AND wedding planner at one of my previous weddings. When she contacted me about being her wedding photographer, she still didn’t have a date set and I got worried I wasn’t going to be able to photograph it, since I already had a good number of dates booked. Andrea, on the other side wasn’t worried at all. She said “no worries, we’ll book a date that you still have available!” and so she did…

What is your favorite thing to do together?: 
“We love to cook together when we can! Whether it's a meal completely from scratch or a Blue Apron meal (that Tyler always makes fun of Andrea for ordering); it's always fun to get in the kitchen, drink some wine and make a meal together”.

We also enjoy going out to a sports bar, hanging out and watching football when we are able. It's nice to sit back and relax on a Sunday after a busy weekend in the hospitality world.