I’m over the moon to share these gorgeous summer Goodstone Inn & Restaurant engagement photos with you all today! Kirsten and Ken are getting married next March at Riverside on the Potomac and spending the evening with them during their engagement session was so much fun. We had originally planned to do their session on a different day, but when we all arrived, the weather was a disaster. We’re talking thunder, lightning, pouring nonstop rain, it was pretty awful. When the rain finally did slow, everything was obviously drenched, so we decided to try for a day later in the week. Sometimes these things happen, regardless of what the weather apps say, but we couldn’t have asked for a prettier day on our second go! Well, minus the whole heat index of 103 thing, but beyond that, it was stunning.
These two have amazing chemistry between them and Kirsten’s sister Rebecca was a rockstar assistant with Kirsten’s sweet Bailey that day. I can’t thank the four of them enough for being such troopers in that heat and for being so amazing in every way! Scroll on for more peeks from Kirsten and Ken’s engagement session!
Kirsten: In the halls of Oakton High School! I think we were probably 16 years old. Ken had just transferred from private school and we had mutual friends. We became very good friends and both knew there was always a spark!
Ken: I met Kirsten at Oakton High School in Vienna, VA. I had just transferred from a small private school (there were literally 8 kids in my grade so I’m not sure we can even call it a private school) to Oakton High School in the 10th grade. I met Kirsten through some mutual friends and most of our interactions were just saying hi or awkwardly hugging each other in the hallways in between classes. Thankfully we started spending more time together towards the end of high school and got to know each other outside of awkward interactions in the hallway.
Ken: This is hard to remember as we were probably only sixteen years old or so at the time, but I obviously very attracted to Kirsten and thought she had a great sense of humor. Unfortunately, I was extremely socially awkward coming from private school (ya know the whole 8 kids in my grade thing), but she was awkward too so it worked out well!
Kirsten: I thought who is this boy and where did he come from?! He was shy and probably terrified of girls like me haha!
Kirsten: Our friendship changed to more once we both graduated from undergrad. We both moved back to the area where Ken was working and living in Arlington and I went back to nursing school.
Ken: Although we were friends for a long time, we didn’t actually go on our first date until 2013 when I moved back home to Virginia after getting my undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina. We went to Cheesecake Factory, which is still a favorite of ours.
Ken: Kirsten was and will always be the first and only girl I’ve ever dated. I am a very private person and don’t really go out of my way to tell people about my personal relationships. Kirsten and I just clicked really well and it was very obvious to friends and family.
Kirsten: That was so long ago that I don’t even remember!
Kirsten: Ken had planned a trip to Ft. Lauderdale as my 30th birthday present. There was a very eventful start to the trip where fights broke out on the plane, our Uber got into a car accident with an 18 wheeler and a housekeeper broke into our room. After recovering from the day’s events with a few glasses of wine at the resort happy hour Ken proposed during a walk on the beach that night!
en: I booked a 5-day trip at a beach resort in Ft. Lauderdale for Kirsten’s 30th birthday at the end of May 2021. I didn’t truly have a master plan, but knew that I wanted to propose on the beach as the sun was setting. A series of events unfolded on the way down to Ft. Lauderdale (intense verbal altercation on the flight down, an 18-wheeler flatbed rammed into our Uber driver on the way to the resort, etc.) so I was even more anxious than I would’ve naturally been about the proposal. As the sun was setting we had a much-needed glass of wine and I asked Kirsten if she wanted to go for a walk on the beach. I wanted to make sure we were alone as I know Kirsten doesn’t like crowds, attention, etc. and as we were walking along the beach I reached into my backpack and pulled out the ring and got down on one knee and told her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
Ken: Too many things to go through here because she’s compassionate, hard-working, loyal, etc. But Kirsten and I are very similar people and she understands me better than anyone. She knows what makes me happy/sad/anxious/etc. and it’s really nice to have someone that really loves you and understands you better than anyone.
Kirsten: His sense of humor for sure – there is literally never a dull moment! I cannot wait for a life full of laughing alongside him.
Kirsten: Our first look!
Ken: I want to say the ceremony, but I think walking into the reception with Kirsten and having all my friends and family there happy and enjoying themselves will be a very special moment.
To see other engagement sessions, you can view more here!