I am really excited about Lauren and Alex’s Rixey Manor wedding next Spring. Lauren and I attend the same church (well, we did until she moved!) and I can tell you firsthand that Lauren is a woman who feels deeply, loves much and has a smile that will light up a room! So when she and Alex were interested in me photographing their wedding, I was immediately excited…and then they chose one of my favorite venues, just minutes from home…well, you could imagine how over-the-moon I was!

So as you can see, Alex and Lauren are a fun couple and Alex REALLY knows how to make Lauren laugh. They are intentional about having meaningful and fun dates and to have fun with pre-marital counseling, learning together as they go. I can’t say enough about how much fun these two are and how much I loved our time together and can’t wait to see all of their planning unfold!!!

So here in Lauren’s own words is the story of how they met, fell in love and the proposal!!!

“Alex and I met online. We were both encouraged by close friends to give it a chance and we ‘met’ almost two years ago, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. I thought he was cute and sent him a smile. We got to know each other through questions and answers and eventually started emailing and then texting and then we talked on the phone. Our first “real date” was 1/1/15 and we knew then we wanted to be together! We continued to date long distance, traveling to each other’s houses on the weekends until May of 2016, when I took the plunge and moved to Madison Heights, Alex hadn’t had any luck finding a job in Culpeper.”

“Alex and I had planned to go to Smith Mountain Lake on August 6. So the night before he came over and told me that his friend from work needed help moving some stuff the next morning and if it was ok to help since he had helped me with my move, it wouldn’t take long. I said yes because the music director at church needed me to come by to practice a song so it would work out and we could leave after. Well, he text me while I was at the church and said the moving truck broke down and it was going to take much longer than expected. So friends from church, after much convincing, got me to go out to lunch with them. After lunch Alex said he was done and to meet him at the apartment. By this time I was upset because it was too late to go to the lake. When I got home, Alex was there and there was a note attached to the front door telling me how wonderful I was and how much he loved me, but through song lyrics that we like. I opened the door and the steps going upstairs were covered in rose petals, candles, and pictures of us. I got to the bedroom door and there was a final note simply saying “and I could not ask for more”. I opened the door to find him on one knee, ring in hand surrounded by more roses and candles all over my room. He told me I was the love of his life and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes!”