10 Sep Stefanie + Michael | Engagement Photos

It’s finally wedding week for Stefanie and Michael and I couldn’t be more excited to see all the months of planning come to life. Stefanie and Michael are showing off Birmingham to their family and friends and we’ve assembled and all-star team to make it happen. First they’ll say “I Do” at Mountain Chapel United Methodist Church and then we’ll celebrate the night away at B&A Warehouse. Expecting an epic night for sure! Until I get to share the full wedding at a later date, I hope you enjoy looking through their engagement photos with Alisha Crossley Photography at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and reading their fun Q&A with me. Happy wedding week you two!

How/where did you meet and what did you do on your first date? Give us all the details.

Stefanie: We met on the website Match.com. Michael “liked” one of my photos, and I wrote him back complimenting his good taste.:) We sent a few emails back and forth before deciding to meet up in person. We had plans to meet at a rooftop bar, but since the weather didn’t look promising we ended up using our rain plan and going for margaritas at a restaurant called Fuego. We had chips and salsa and talked for a couple of hours discovering that we had a lot in common. Michael asked me on a second date before we got on the metro to head home in opposite directions.

Describe your dream date…

Stefanie: One of our favorite things to do as a couple is to walk around and explore, so I think a dream date for us would be to find ourselves with a free day in an unfamiliar city with the chance to wander around and see what we could find to eat and see and do. An unlimited budget wouldn’t hurt either in this dream scenario!

Do you have a favorite movie or song?

Stefanie: We don’t see a lot of movies, but do usually make trips to the theater when favorites come out. Michael’s picks are the new Star Wars and most of the Marvel movies, and I’m looking forward to the next Fantastic Beasts film. We both like a wide variety of music, so I don’t think we could nail down a favorite song, but we recently went to a Lone Bellow concert and really enjoyed it!

What guilty pleasure do you share?

Stefanie: We have a five pound bag of gummy bears on scheduled delivery to our apartment every few months. Our guilty pleasure is probably eating these while watching HGTV.

Tell us all about the proposal… anything not go as planned or was it completely perfect?

Michael: We were in Nashville, TN to see the eclipse. It was one of the larger cities that was in the path of totality. We stayed with some friends and went out to an old airfield that was converted into a park. It was incredible to watch! As totality hit, it dropped at least 10 degrees, went completely dark and crickets were chirping. Then as soon as it came it was gone. That alone made it an amazing day, but there was one more thing to do. When the sun had come back and we started to clean up, I got down on one knee and proposed to Stefanie. She was so shocked that she doesn’t remember much from there, but I assure you she said yes.

What do the two of you like to do together when you aren’t working?

Michael: Once the weather improves we like to stay active. We both go to the same gym, like walks around Arlington, VA and DC, and going to a lot of Washington Nationals games.

What are you looking forward to the most about your wedding day?

Michael: Aside from marrying Stefanie, I’m just excited to celebrate with friends and family. There aren’t many times where everyone gets together and that’s pretty special.

How did you know he was the one?

Stefanie: There were a lot of small moments that led to me falling in love with Michael. One I remember that stands out was early on while we were dating. I had a job interview the following day and had to prepare a presentation. I had a meltdown due to nerves and some technical difficulties, and Michael sprang into action doing everything he could to fix the issues, calm me down and build my confidence at the same time. I didn’t end up getting this job, but am so thankful that the experience gave me a chance to see this amazingly supportive, strong and patient side of Michael from the beginning.