Remember that early morning couples session with Tara and Andrew?! If you didn’t see it, check it out here! Tara put me in contact with Andrew’s family to document Andrew’s brother’s engagement party! It was so rewarding to serve this family more than once, as they are the kindest people and made me feel so welcomed into their event. Chrissy and Rob were surrounded by so many friends and family for a beautiful backyard party to celebrate their engagement. One of the most impressive parts of the night was the dessert table! Just wait until you see how many different sweets surrounded their beautiful lemon cake, WOW!!

Chrissy and Rob’s love story began with a blind date set up by Rob’s aunt! They met during a business exchange where his aunt told Chrissy, “So, I have this nephew for you…” but Chrissy didn’t think much would come of this match-making aunt of Rob’s. Months later, she found herself going on a first date with this mysterious nephew after he had texted her to introduce himself. She says, “I found myself thinking how bold this guy is, and I kind of liked that he just took a shot in the dark like that.” Go Rob!! Their night didn’t end after dinner, and, although it was freezing and pouring rain, Rob surprised Chrissy when he said “I’m taking you down the street for wine and dessert,” and so they went. They spent the night talking until midnight when they realized everyone else had left the restaurant. Sounds like a pretty perfect first date to me!

These two like to do life the not-so-typical way. After meeting through an optimistic aunt and having a romantic and impressive first date, they found themselves deciding to buy a house together. “Let that sink in,” Chrissy said, “After dating for around a year (give or take) we had the conversation that we would buy a house together… Without living together in other capacity first.” The story of how this came to be is so unique and involves Chrissy’s beloved, late grandmother, a medium, and a few offers on the house that fell through at just the right time. They bought the house and moved in together!

After all of that, you may have forgotten that they have yet to get engaged at this point! Rob took Chrissy on a day trip to Philadelphia where they spent the day (another freezing and pouring rain day) exploring some of their favorite spots in the area like Green Eggs Cafe for brunch, the Ben Franklin Institute, and the Reading Terminal Market. She had a feeling that this would be the day he proposes, but by the time they got into the car at night, she realized the weather may have put a damper on Rob’s plans for a romantic proposal in the park.

She said, “But right there in his car parked in Northern Liberties on North 2nd Street outside of Green Eggs Cafe, with the rain pouring down and the heat blasting, he leaned over and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world!! I was the happiest woman in the world, and after kissing and hugging, he opened the box and revealed the most beautiful, perfect ring. I grabbed it and put it on, and was staring at it when he reminded me that he was supposed to be the one to put it on me…. so I had to give it back!” As a recap, “We met through Rob’s aunt, we bought a house before ever living together, we got engaged in a car in the rain, and now… we are getting married in a renovated pickle barrel factory.” I just LOVE it!!

I couldn’t stop smiling as I found out more about the adorable ride these two have been on, and I’m so grateful to have been a part of their engagement celebration! Wishing you both all of the happiness in the world and many more not-so-typical adventures in life!