The Dairy Barn, Fort Mill, SC, Engagement // William+Lauren
William and Lauren were such FUN! This engagement shoot included an abundance of laughter, adventure, crazy horses [see below for proof!], and sweet moments. The weather at The Dairy Barn was absolutely perfect. Lauren did a fabulous job in selecting outfits that popped, as well as bringing some fun props. We have so enjoyed getting to know this couple and have included their story below so you can get to know them as well! Hint: it's hilarious.
How They Met and Fell in Love
Well thank goodness for technology…. and two humble hearts willing to allow God to orchestrate a love starting with online dating! We met March 26th, 2015 for coffee and the hope that a "get to know you" conversation would turn into something much more. Without a doubt, there was apprehension on both ends about one another. Our intrigued minds wondered… "How important is his/her faith?"… "Can I make her laugh with my corny jokes?"… "Is he always this awkward or is he just nervous?"… "Am I talking too much?!" As time marched on, slowly we grew more and more fond of one another until we realized that this is a love we had never before experienced. A love that was Christ centered and God honoring. A love that strived to put the other first for the sake of our own wants and desires. A love we both desired to unconditionally devote ourselves to for the rest of our lives.
The Proposal
Will and Lauren both knew that after dating for six months that this love would be forever. However, since we both view marriage as a covenant commitment before God that would be for the rest of our lives, we both felt that it would be wise for us not only to give our relationship time to grow more deeply, but also for us to enjoy this season of dating. So therefore, Lauren had been expecting Will to pop the question for months, but luckily Will caught her at just the right unexpected moment to surprise her with a proposal!
April 4th, 2016-- Just after we had been dating for one year, Will and Lauren set off for a little adventure to Chapel Hill to supposedly watch UNC play in the NCAA basketball national championship with thousands of Tar Heel fans. Before watching the game, Will surprised Lauren with a picnic at Duke Gardens (And for you Tar Heel fans, yes yes, going to Duke on Carolina's game day is not necessarily the first place a born or bread Tar Heel would choose, but luckily Lauren just went with it). Now of course Lauren was thinking, "Oh he is totally proposing to me today," but she had also had that same thought every time Will decided to take her on any "adventure," so it wasn't exactly the first time she felt like this was coming. We sit down in a not so private area of the gardens to share some mimosas and sandwiches, and then Lauren suggested going on a walk around the grounds, which perfectly fell into Will's plan of finding a more secluded place to ask her to marry him. Once we started walking, Lauren glanced down at Will's pockets to sadly discover that there was not the possibility of a ring box in either of his pockets. So at that point, the idea of a proposal for Lauren was over. Will and Lauren walk around a lake, then they picked a bench to sit down and continue the conversation they were having about how God has mysteriously and perfectly worked things out in their lives. Lauren swears she was paying attention to every word Will was saying, that is up until Will stood up from the bench to get down on one knee. As Will was professing his love and commitment to Lauren in asking her to marry him, Lauren, who was overwhelmed in the moment, hugged Will's neck and tears of excitement started to stream down her face, but of course she doesn't remember a single word he said. Finally, Will took a breath and Lauren sat back. As Will stared at her waiting for her response to his question, Lauren looked at him and uttered, "Did you ask me something?" So Will had to ask Lauren a second time, "Will you marry me?" Her answer was "oh of course… I couldn't imagine anything else that would make me more happy!"
