Elyssa and Christian met up with me in Old Town Alexandria for their engagement session on a warm July evening. It was so fun to finally be able to meet them in person. They chose this special location because Christian proposed to Elyssa in a gazebo on the Old Town Alexandria waterfront. So it was the perfect setting for their engagement session! Here is their story in their own words and I can’t wait to serve them next year at Morais Vineyards!

Elyssa: “Christian and I were practically neighbors at JMU. It was our sophomore year and we met one night out during the spring semester. It was common to meet people from northern VA at JMU and also common to have mutual friends with others. We met briefly that night and added each other on Snapchat. We went on with our night out with friends.”

Christian: “Elyssa and I met each other through mutual friends at JMU. We met at a friends house and talked for a few minutes and realized how much we had in common with where we were from, mutual friends, and interest in sports. I decided to take a chance and ask for her Snapchat so we could connect later.”

Elyssa: “Fast forward a month or so when we were back to northern VA for summer break. Christian snapchatted me and we soon realized we lived 15 minutes away at home. We texted for a week or two and decided to hang out in a group of friends. I hadn’t seen Christian since that night so I was nervous. We sat outside for hours and talked and listened to music. Immediately when we got in the car to go home, my friends asked ‘so…do you like him?’ I was smiling from ear to ear but tried to play it cool. Within seconds Christian texted me and asked me on our first date the next day in downtown Clifton. From that day on, we dated through the rest of college and did a lot of growing together.”

Christian: “We really hit it off in the summer when we were both in northern Va and lived close to each other. I asked Elyssa and her friends to come over to hang out one night with me and my friends. My favorite memory from that night was being able to tell how sweet and easy to get along with Elyssa was. I was immediately attracted to her personality and smile. We ended up going on a date in Clifton the next day and things really took off after that. We made our relationship official in August of 2017 and have been each others person since.”

Elyssa: “We both graduated from JMU and moved in together in Merrifield, VA in 2021. We had been talking about our future together and wanting to get married soon. We looked at rings together and pictured our engagement and future. One day Christian ran some errands after work and I was suspicious. I wondered if he was out buying a ring. Little did I know, Christian was at my house asking my parents for my hand in marriage. Christian proposed in Old Towne Alexandria on the waterfront gazebo. He had all of our closest friends and family there for a surprise party at the Chart House. The day was everything and more I could have imagined. We can’t wait to tie the knot at the beautiful Morais Vineyards next year!”

Christian: “From weekends at the beach or lake Anna, to moving in together in Merrifield, we have done just about everything together and continue to make amazing memories. I felt like the time was right in February 2022 to start planning my proposal of marriage. It definitely wasn’t easy. I had to be very sneaky about a lot of things but ended up being successful. Old town Alexandria was the perfect spot because of Elyssa’s love for being by the water and she has always talked about enjoying the area. I proposed to Elyssa on March 5th. It was a very special day celebrating with friends and family. I’m so excited to get married to Elyssa, and for all of the adventures to come while we build our life together. I’m grateful I found my person.”

Keep scrolling for more incredible images from their Old Town Alexandria engagement session!

Michelle with Lieb Photographic is a Northern Virginia Wedding Photographer, a Charlottesville Wedding Photographer and photographs destinations nationwide. If you’d like to explore some of my other favorite wedding venues in the Virginia and Washington D.C. areas, view the Wedding Venues page.