09 Jun Mary Kendrick + Taylor | Engagement Photos
A long awaited day is finally in the home stretch… it’s Mary Kendrick and Taylor’s wedding week and we have a beautiful summer wedding day planned for these two. Can’t wait to send them down the aisle!
Check out their super sweet engagement session with Katie & Alec Photography and Mary Kendrick’s Q&A with us about their courtship.
How/where did you meet and what did you do on your first date? Give us all the details.
We met at Auburn in August 2010, a few days before the beginning of our freshman year. We lived in the same honors dorm (aka the “nerd dorm”!). I (Mary Kendrick) was sitting outside the dorm one evening hanging out with some of my friends when he walked up with some of his friends – but I thought he was so cute that I was too nervous to talk to him! Over the next few years, we occasionally saw each other around campus and through mutual friends, but we were really just acquaintances.
Fast forward to the April 2014 (spring semester of my senior year) – it was my sorority’s last social of the year, and I had no idea who I could take as my date. A mutual friend suggested that I could take Taylor, and he texted Taylor to ask if he was available to go with me. Luckily, Taylor said yes, so we attended the “Draft a Date” social together wearing Cam Newton jerseys! The social itself ended up being kind of a bust, but we were having such a great time together that we ended up walking around Auburn’s campus for several hours talking and catching up (as well as climbing trees and doing some random parkour!).
Over the next week or so, we got together a few more times – going running, checking out a local farmer’s market, and making pancakes together! Shortly after, Taylor asked me on our first “official” date where we went hiking and picnicking at Chewacla State Park and then to dinner at a nice restaurant in Auburn – and the rest is history!
Describe your dream date…
Our dream date would look a whole lot like our first date – doing some active and in nature (like hiking!), followed by some great food at a fun restaurant!
Do you have a favorite movie or song?
We are not huge movie or TV people, and our taste in music is less than cool – however, we love finding happy, upbeat music and listening to it together. Also, we will always treasure the songs on the mix CDs we made for each other when we were long distance!
What guilty pleasure do you share?
We both really, really, really love cookies.
Tell us all about the proposal… anything not go as planned or was it completely perfect?
Taylor and I had planned a post-Christmas trip to Asheville, NC, and I flew up to Greensboro, NC, a couple days before to visit his family. I had a hunch that the engagement could be happening on this trip, especially after his mom and sister suggested getting our nails done together! On our first day in Asheville, we went out for a big breakfast at Biscuit Head before stopping into a grocery store to grab some food for a picnic before going hiking. My suspicions grew as he suggested grabbing some prosecco to along with supplies for a meat and cheese board.!
After hiking around in the gorgeous DePont State Forest for a few hours, Taylor and I walked out of a rock in front of a beautiful waterfall and he asked me if I wanted to stop for a picnic break. In what might be the only time in my life that I’ve turned down some food, I said that I was still full from breakfast (I later realized that the ring was in the bottom of his picnic bag!). Not to be deterred, he sat down, pulled out the food (and the ring!), and told me to turn around. He then proposed, and of course I said “yes!”. Several people witnessed the proposal and came up to us afterwards to share their candid pictures! We hiked around a while longer, then finished up our day by visiting the Biltmore Estate, going to dinner and the local breweries, and just enjoying the city. We drove to Birmingham a couple days later on New Year’s Eve and celebrated with friends and family while ringing in 2018!
What do the two of you like to do together when you aren’t working?
We love running and all things active and being outdoors, cooking, trying new restaurants, and planning our next travel adventure!
What are you looking forward to the most about your wedding day?
I am really excited about our first look – I think in that moment, it will finally feel real! I’m also looking forward to celebrating – first with family and friends on our wedding day, and then together on our honeymoon!
How did you know he was the one?
Honestly, I knew Taylor was the one before we left the social (just ask anyone I talked to in the next 24 hours!). After dating for a few months, I remember listening to the Avett Brothers’ song “January Wedding” and the line ”I understand because my heart and hers are the same” just made complete sense to me. Taylor is conscientious, determined, and dependable, yet goofy, spontaneous, and fun. He has the most unique combination of intelligence and creativity, and he can learn (and achieve) anything he sets his mind to. Taylor is strong and practical, but also sensitive and kind. He can climb a tree faster than anyone I know, has an infinite knowledge of random animal facts, and he makes the best homemade pasta I’ve ever eaten. He’s also incredibly handsome… and I get to marry him!
