I’ve known Lara since we both went to Penn State. We were both part of a great group of friends that I still miss seeing multiple times a week and us all living a couple of blocks from each other. She has always been a big supporter of my photography and even hired me 9 years ago to photograph her sister’s wedding when I had just officially started my business.

Lara + Patrick’s story is one where they were probably around each other without knowing and maybe even interacting without actually knowing each other. Patrick also went to Penn State the same time as us and graduated the same year as well. There are 40,000 undergraduate students on Penn State’s campus, but Lara actually knew Patrick’s roommate. In case that wasn’t enough, Lara is a nurse and Patrick is a pharmacist and both went to work at Penn State’s Hershey Medical Center. They probably even spoke over the phone when Lara put orders in for medication. But as they both said, they probably wouldn’t have dated or really been friends if they had met earlier than they did.

Instead they matched on a dating app and Lara noticed his Penn State Alumni status and his bright green Jeep in the background of his photo. (Both were good signs.) They went on their first date during Covid, in fact their first date was at a table in a tent. And to make the date even more perfect, Lara’s bright green Jeep was “ducked” while they were at dinner. Who do you think did that? 🙂 (Yes, they both have bright green Jeeps, make sure to scroll to the bottom to see them together!) In case you haven’t heard of being “ducked”, it’s a Jeep thing. For Jeep owners, when you find another Jeep, you leave a rubber duck somewhere on it for the owner to find. The goal is that they’ll post a photo of it on social media, and then pass the duck along to keep the game going. (Being a Jeep owner is sort of an unofficial club. hahaha I know this because both my sisters own Jeeps too.)

For their engagement session, Lara mentioned how she’d like Longwood Gardens engagement photos and I was all in! Now that we’ve moved to eastern Pennsylvania I’m all about exploring as much of it as possible and getting to know all the perfect spots for sessions. Longwood Gardens is definitely a great place for any kind of session! It was a warm day with the the possibility of rain so Ben and I went and explored everything before they got there so I could pick out the perfect spots and even have some backup plans for rain.

Early on when Lara + Patrick were dating they were doing some shopping and Lara made a comment about the cheap rings that are sold at CVS. Patrick made a special note that if he did ever propose he would propose with one of those cheap rings as a joke. As Lara says when Patrick proposed, “Through the tears I looked at the ring he put on my finger. And I tried to understand how he picked out such an ugly ring. It was so different from what we had looked at together. But I was so happy that I just accepted it!! … As we drove home I called my mom and sister and told them the good news! All the while not believing that I had to wear this ugly ring for the rest of my life! Before we got home he [Patrick] cracked, and admitted it was joke ring, but the proposal was real! He had the real ring waiting for me at home… It was beautiful! We called our friends and family and I was just so excited, ugly ring or not!!”

I remember when Lara texted our group of Penn State girls and told us the story and sent us the picture of the ring he got at Claire’s and originally proposed with. I was like oh Lara has found her match! I still really want her to bring the fake ring to the wedding so I can get a couple shots of it! I did thoroughly enjoy photographing her real, beautiful ring on some of the beautiful flowers and plants around the gardens.

We did get some rain, but luckily I’m always prepared with umbrellas!

This was another place we ducked in when we got caught in the rain. It was great for pictures until other people nearby started joining us!

I just loved the lush greenery in the spring, the architecture that’s in this part of the garden, and Lara’s perfect twirl dress!

I kept trying peonies and roses for the perfect ring shot, and then I found this huge Eucalyptus. Lara is going to have Eucalyptus in her wedding bouquet so it was perfect!

Lara wanted to make sure to get pictures with their bright green Jeeps. So they drove separate to their Longwood Gardens engagement photos so we could get pictures of them with both their Jeeps.

Remember how Lara’s Jeep got “ducked” on their first date? It was from Patrick! And of course she saved the duck!

Lara + Patrick,

I am so excited for the two of you and cannot wait until November for your wedding! Lara, I feel honored that you’ve wanted me to photograph your wedding for so long. I’m beyond thrilled that you’ve finally found each other even though you were basically dancing around each other for 15 years!