Facebook Copy-color Created with Sketch.
Instagram-color Created with Sketch.

Explore

As a prior English teacher, I love telling each of my couple's love story. Each story is unique and in a culmination of love and a little planning, the wedding day brings that love to life in front of family and friends. As a lover of heirlooms and legacies, it's a joy to be alongside each of my couples as they create memories that will last forever for their children and grandchildren!

I'm ali rae.

Hey there!

20 things you do NOT want to forget on your big day! Sign up to get it straight to your inbox!

Download the Free Wedding Checklist!

snag the freebie!

3 ways to create heirloom-worthy images on your wedding day

wedding resource

Free!

Nicole & Eric | Rainy Day Carlyle House Engagement | Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

Portraits

July 29, 2020

back to blog

Not sure if you all saw my posts on Instagram about THE BLUE DOOR, but I FOUND IT! And I was so excited that when I did that Nicole and Eric were up for having their photo taken in front of it!

This blue door had haunted my dreams…I had seen other photographers’ sessions that took place here, but never knew where it was. After months of searching (and shooting literally half a block down from it…), it finally came to me! 🙂

Nicole and Eric wanted their engagement session to be in Old Town Alexandria because Old Town had [almost] meant so much to them. I kid—it does mean a lot to them and they have spent much of their time dating exploring Old Town together. But one part of their story that is so sweet is when Eric decided he was going to propose.

He had done all the research about buying a ring, strategically ordered it online out of state, had a meticulous plan to propose to Nicole in what was supposed to seem like a run-of-the-mill day to really catch her off-guard. They had routinely gotten dinner at their favorite restaurant and eaten it down by the waterfront in Alexandria, so he thought it would be perfect to do the same the night he proposed to her. Well, when they did…he said the Potomac smelled like terrible sewage and the waterfront just happened to be CRAWLING with people that day. Nicole hates to be the center of attention, plus…with the smell, he just knew the waterfront wasn’t right for them. So they took their dinner home, and he proposed in their living room because he couldn’t stand not to be engaged to her any longer.

I love this story because it really does illustrate how much Eric cares for Nicole. When we were in their session, most of the time I would have to tell him to look at my camera because his default pose was to look at Nicole. This might seem unremarkable, but I love that his focus is on her always. Both of these two work in the healthcare field and you can tell that they have hearts to serve others, which makes it so much fun to work with and serve them!

October can’t come soon enough for these two, and I can’t wait to be with them as they say, “I do!”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

share this post:

Facebook Copy-color Created with Sketch.
Instagram-color Created with Sketch.

Explore

As a prior English teacher, I love telling each of my couple's love story. Each story is unique and in a culmination of love and a little planning, the wedding day brings that love to life in front of family and friends. As a lover of heirlooms and legacies, it's a joy to be alongside each of my couples as they create memories that will last forever for their children and grandchildren!

I'm ali rae.

Hey there!