Jasmine and Steve’s fall engagement session in Old Town Alexandria was full of laughter and smiles! From grabbing coffee at Starbucks to start their session to more formal photos that evening down by the water, these two had the best time posing for photos!

They met on a dating app called “OkCupid” in the summer of 2017. One of Jasmine’s friends had recently gotten out of a relationship and was struggling with how to use the app. Jasmine knew that the app couldn’t be that hard to use as all of the dating apps are the same. Steve happened to be one of the first people that she swiped on, and the rest is history. Jasmine knew that he was different because when he asked her out for an in-person date, she actually said yes. At the time, Steve was looking for a new way to meet people. So, he took the plunge and signed up for “OkCupid” as well.

A “Coffee” Themed First Date

Their first date actually took place at a Starbucks in Crofton, Maryland. Little did Steve know Jasmine chose that specific location because she had family down the street, just in case he was crazy. It just so happened that Steve wasn’t because they were asked to leave as the Starbucks was closing that night. Steve picked Starbucks for their first date too because he enjoys drinking coffee. However, he also wanted to make sure Jasmine wasn’t crazy either, so a coffee place seemed like good safe place to meet.

Steve had been planning to propose for a while, but due to both sets of parents getting sick with Covid back to back, he had to postpone for a while. He was finally able to put his plan into motion and chose the day after Memorial Day last year. He knew that Jasmine wouldn’t suspect anything. When Jasmine came home from work that day, Steve left a note for her to come upstairs. There were rose petals leading to the bedroom. With lots of lit candles and more rose petals on the bed, he began his speech on one knee about how lucky he is to have Jasmine in his life. She of course said yes when he asked her to marry him!

We started their engagement session by first grabbing coffee at Starbucks since that was where they had their first date. Starbucks added a nice touch and wrote Bride and Groom on their coffee cups with their wedding date! Steve wore his Maryland college sweatshirt and Jasmine her Howard sweatshirt. I love how they also both wore jeans and matching red and white tennis shoes. They both later changed into a more formal outfit with Steve wearing a gray suit and Jasmine a pink spaghetti strap wrap dress. I loved this outfit she wore as it showed off her pretty hummingbird tattoo. In addition to walking around the downtown area of Old Alexandria, we also went near the water and took some photos amid the boats.

On the wedding day, Jasmine is most looking forward to seeing the excitement in guests’ faces and them being happy and having a good time. Steve is excited about smashing the cake into Jasmine’s face! She can’t wait to marry her best friend, and Steve knows that Jasmine is going to look so pretty walking down the aisle with her dad. Jasmine and Steve’s engagement session in Old Town Alexandria was a beautiful preview of their summer wedding! I’m looking forward to photographing their special day in August!

If you love exploring the downtown area near D.C. and are recently engaged, I would love to be your photographer! Reach out to me on my contact page so we can find a date on my calendar!