Morais Vineyards Engagement | Lieb Photographic | Evelyn and Stefano

Sep 5, 2019

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When I first met with Evelyn and Stefano I knew pretty early on that they were the perfect fit for each other and that I would love to serve them on their wedding day. These two UVA grads are one of the most thoughtful couples and truly value their photos and making precious memories together. So much so, they booked two engagement sessions with me…the first one at their wedding venue, Morais Vineyards. The second one will be at UVA. I seriously love the way Evelyn and Stefan think!

We had a wonderful time exploring Morais Vineyards together for the engagement session! The weather was perfect and so was the company. They even brought their favorite ice cream with custom spoons (MooThru of course). And Evelyn had two wine glasses with an etching of the front facade of Morais! I think it’s safe to say that they really like their wedding venue!

How They Met and Fell in Love

To quote Evelyn, “I always joke with Stefano that our story isn’t a fairytale unless you compare it to Beauty and the Beast, which happens to be my favorite Disney Princess story. It wasn’t love at first sight but its our story.”

And what a beautiful story it is! They truly were friends first. Evelyn is a year older than Stefano, so when they met at the University of Virginia, she was already in her second year in the Engineering School. He had just started his first year in the Engineering School.

After two years of knowing each other, they were friends who just grew closer and closer. It was during Evelyn’s last year at UVA when they began to date. They were there for one another through easy and trying times and when Evelyn graduated, Stefano was right there, cheering her on.

At first, they were separated by distance after school when Evelyn moved to start her career and Stefano finished school. After many trips to UVA, wineries and visits, Evelyn shared that special moment with Stefan as he walked across the stage to receive his diploma. Once Stefano graduated, he made the move to be in northern Virginia with her.

Not long after graduation, they began their travel adventures together as well! As Evelyn said, “We were two crazy kids with big dreams of seeing the world so our first trip was to Panama and Costa Rica for a week.” They both absolutely loved being with each other so much after graduation, that they have since traveled all over the USA, fourteen states, and to eight countries! Says Evelyn of their closeness, “We are each other best friend and truly are a match made in heaven! So much that we typically try to order the same dishes at restaurants.”

So How Did Stefano Prepare to Propose?

In Evelyn’s words, “My dad came to me with the idea of traveling to Argentina and Chile because it has been his dream to see the Andes Mountains. I saw an opportunity to travel to not one but TWO countries that I had been wanting to go to and drink lots of wine. I asked Stefano if he wanted to come and he immediately agreed.”

“My dad’s side of the family is from Ecuador and my dad hadn’t seen them in three years and I hadn’t seen them in five years. So my dad decided to bring my aunt, uncle, and oldest cousin along for the trip which was great to catch up and have Stefano met my extended family.”

“During the process of my dad and I coordinating the trip and details, Stefano arranged to meet my mom and dad after work one day. He asked for my parents blessing to ask for my hand in marriage. From the beginning of us discussing marriage, I always told Stefano he had to ask both of my parents because they both raised me. When he texted my parents to meet up my mom was sick and she said she couldn’t wait because she had goosebumps so they met the following day.”

“My mom was originally not going to come on the trip but now that she knew there was a proposal happening how could she not, she had to write a letter to her school asking for permission to take time off. Her words put it best, she had never missed anything big in my life to this moment and was not going to miss this.”

“Now I get my talking abilities from both of my parents but lets just say that my mom takes first place. She told everyone that said ‘Hi’ to her from the moment she found out…her first grade students knew before me.”

And How Did He Pop The Question?

“Stefano packed the ring into his backpack without me knowing. So when we arrived to Buenos Aires, he met my extended family for the first time and it was exciting! We visited Uruguay, Patagonia, (to see the most breath taking views I have ever since looking at all the glaciers!), Salta and finally Mendoza Argentina, wine country.”

“The first day we took a trip to see the Andes and then the following day we rent a car to go to winery. Stefano and I selected wineries while we were in Salta and booked three tours. So by time we get to this day we have been in Argentina for almost two weeks. For two weeks Stefano has carried this backpack and not let it out of his sight. We drove out to the first winery and took a tour of the vineyard. Let me tell you those wineries are stunning. The backdrop is the Andes Mountains and it absolutely perfect!”

“We get to the first winery do the tour and the tasting and as we are walking around Stefano asks to take pictures there together. My mom started snapping pictures and he turned to me and told me that the past four years have been amazing. He got down on one knee and pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. (All the words are lost on me because at this point I’m crying, my mom is crying, my aunt is crying.)”

“We continued our wine tour and went to a seven course food pairing with food that is set outside with this amazing backdrop following us everywhere. My mom told me how he asked her, shows me the text and says that if Stefano didn’t ask today she was going to kick him because she came all this way to see the proposal! I love the fact that I got to share that moment in my life with the most amazing people that raised me to be the person I have become.”

Congratulations!

Evelyn and Stefano, I have so enjoyed getting to know the two of you thus far and hear your incredible story face to face. Congratulations on your engagement and I can’t wait for our next one AND your Morais Vineyard wedding next year! Keep scrolling to see more highlights from this special day!