Their Engagement Session: Fishtown & Old City, Philadelphia, PA

There’s nothing cozier than a winter Elfreth’s Alley engagement session in Philadelphia! Haley and Jesse picked some of my all-time favorite locations in the city – an adorable bar in Fishtown called Wm. Mulherin’s Sons and the historic Elfreth’s Alley in Old City! Despite the chilly winter weather, these two had so much fun and looked ADORABLE celebrating their engagement with these pictures!

The trendy bar vibes were so unique and moody, which made for the perfect backdrop for them to have some drinks together and warm up for the outdoors! We were so lucky and grateful that they let us come in before they opened to use the space! Elfreth’s Alley is a classic and iconic spot in Philadelphia that truly never disappoints.

Due to Jesse’s deployment, they wanted to squeeze these photos in before he left! We were able to find a date just a few days before he left – so glad they have these photos to cherish in the meantime! ❤️

Their Love Story

Jesse and Haley met at work while they were both stationed in Kansas during the summer of 2020! He messaged her while he was deployed in Poland after an email was sent out to the office introducing the new people. When he got back to Kansas, they started hanging out with the same group of friends and got super close. They have been rocking long distance Army couple life for the better part of 3 years!

Haley shared all the fun details about their proposal: “We had been talking about marriage for most of this year, and by the fall we were going through ring options. He is much more detail-oriented than I am, so of course he was doing in-depth market research on materials and styles for months. By mid-October, I knew he had bought the ring but I just assumed that it would take several weeks to process and ship, and because we had both agreed that we didn’t love an engagement on Thanksgiving or over Christmas, I just assumed that it was going to wait until January as a birthday surprise.”

He completely caught her off caught with the perfect surprise proposal at his parents’ house in the Outer Banks on November 8th!

She said he was adamant about going on a walk around dinner time all day, so she couldn’t say no even though their family was already prepping dinner! “We walked down the beach, right at sunset so of course it was beautiful, and stopped at an old abandoned pier for a minute or two. He gave me a hug and a kiss and dropped to one knee and I said yes in about 0.3 seconds! It was so romantic – just he and I loving the moment – and we walked back to the house where we started sharing the news!” How special is that?!

Haley admires Jesse’s drive and discipline in everything he does. He always takes the time to account for the little things and he takes such good care of his family/his relationships. Jesse admires that she is extremely caring and easy to talk to, she can put a smile on his face even when he’s upset. I could truly see what a strong connection they’ve built while I was taking their photos!

Haley and Jesse,

Thank you so much for being so much fun to photograph! I loved capturing all your laughter and sweet moments. I truly hope these make deployment a bit easier. Wishing you two all the best in your upcoming marriage – cheers to the next adventure!!! xo