Victoria was working as a bartender in the quaint little town of Christmas, Michigan. It was winter, which meant another tourist season for the Upper Peninsula as people traveled North to bundle up and play outside, cozy up to log fires in cabins covered in snow, and every other magical winter activity you can imagine. Cory and his brothers were among those tourists, taking a trip from Ohio to adventure through the woods on their snowmobiles. When they decided to take a break and stop in at Victoria’s bar, Cory’s eyes met Victoria’s, and the flirting commenced.

Winter melted into Spring, and Spring blossomed into Summer, and Cory and Victoria had only kept in distant contact. Eventually the snow began to fall and Cory made another trip North to enjoy winter in the Upper Peninsula. It was then that he and Victoria decided to take a chance and see what would happen, and before they knew it they were falling madly in love. Victoria made the move to Ohio, and from their sweet country farm home they have began planning their wedding!

High school often becomes the stage of transition; experiencing and finding new interests, meeting new people and creating deeper friendships, falling in love and yet, often, surviving that first heartbreak. It’s a rare beauty to leave those four years and keep “your person” (as only Meridith and Cristina explained to us in Grey’s Anatomy) by your side. Perhaps it’s even more uncommon to leave with your first love still holding your hand. But that’s exactly the case for high school sweethearts, Breanna and Nick.

Fast forward to their 10 year anniversary and Nick finds himself in a jewelry shop prior to their dinner plans. He told himself he was just looking, but when his eyes stopped on a ring that was undoubtedly perfect for Breanna, he bought it. As the two settled down in the restaurant for dinner, Nick suddenly realized he hadn’t asked Breanna’s dad for permission. Keeping his cool and trying to remain casual, he pulled out his phone and sent Breanna’s dad a text. Naturally, Nick didn’t receive a text back, but an immediate phone call. Excusing himself from the table, Nick cornered himself in the men’s room while talking to Breanna’s dad, and in the end Nick got a yes not just from dad, but from the girl of his dreams.

Ashley and Paul were vacationing in South Lake Tahoe, soaking up the California sun and the fresh air of the mountains when they decided to go on a hike. Ashley chose the trail, though it wasn’t too long into the adventure when she realized she may have chosen a harder hike than she was ready for. With a ring hidden away, Paul was determined to get to the top no matter what. Stunning views of Emerald Bay stretched out below them as they made their last few steps to the main viewpoint, but Paul could only focus on one thing. He pulled out a little box revealing the ring to Ashley, and in that moment as she exclaimed “yes!!” it became the best, craziest hike of her life.

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Ashley and Paul’s engagement session actually took two attempts. The first time around we found ourselves stuck in one of the craziest storms in the middle of Michigan that not only reported tornado’s, but left over 200,000 homes and businesses without power. WOAH. Totally not ideal. So naturally, we picked a new date and rescheduled; a perfectly warm, cozy, autumn day in October that delivered in spades.