Ngoc & Jason’s Whimsical, Willow Tree Virginia Engagement Session

Welcome back to our normal Monday routine. Up now we have a beautiful engagement session and touching proposal story courtesy of Michelle VanTine Photography [submitted via Two Bright Lights].

Michelle asked Ngoc & Jason to use 3 words to describe themselves, and the one that stood out the most was whimsical. Michelle thought it would only make sense then to add some whimsy into their willow tree Virginia engagement session by infusing some vintage elements into the shoot.

Ngoc & Jason’s Whimsical, Vintage Virginia Engagement Session

A note from DC wedding photographer, Michelle VanTine:

When working with clients I often ask them to describe their style in 3 words. I can’t remember all 3 words that Ngoc used but I do remember that the word whimsical stood out to me. I wanted to do something more creative than just stand in front of something scenic so I tried to infuse some creative elements. I started with a romantic “rendez vous” under a weeping willow. Next I set up a cute scene with a vintage quilt, typewriter and books, and finally I had the idea to set up a canvas in the middle of the daffodils and had the couple paint their initials in a heart. I thought it came out very romantic, creative… and whimsical!

How Jason & Ngoc met:

I had just moved up to DC after accepting a new job offer. My friend immediately connected me and invited me to go to the Outer Banks, NC for the weekend. Figuring I needed to meet new people anyway, at the last minute, I decided I’d come along for the ride. The second day at the house, Jason stopped by and forever changed my life. I knew from the moment I saw him that this guy was different from the rest. He was witty; he was fun; and frankly, he was adorable. However, I thought there was no way I could ever keep up with him. Within an hour of meeting him, he was already asking me to drive one of his friends back to DC so he could extend his vacation. How random! But that’s Jason…

 The proposal:

Because Jason was leaving for 24 days I wasn’t surprised when he invited me to spend some quality time together the weekend before. Saturday morning, we started driving south and ended up in Williamsburg. At this point, I had figured out that we were going to Christmastown (Busch Gardens decorates the theme park like a real Christmas town).

Point one: Jason had known that I LOVE Christmas, so it was the perfect experience. What I didn’t know was that he had arranged our best friends to be there! There I was sitting in the car when Phil, Jason’s best friend, pops up out of nowhere and starts snapping pictures. Then my best friend and her hubby, Jen and John, arrive. Point two: Jason knows I love taking pictures, so he had arranged for our best friends to capture the events of the day.

Click inside to continue reading the rest of Jason’s magnificent proposal to Ngoc and to see more from their whimsical Virginia engagement session, thanks to Michelle VanTine Photography.

The proposal story continues … and Jason continues to include all of Ngoc’s favorite things into one day …

His surprise was a tour of the penguin exhibit. Point three: my lifelong dream is to squeeze a penguin. We had a private tour of the penguin exhibit; and to my delight, they brought out a real live penguin for us to play with. The lady told us, “Use only two fingers to stroke the penguin.” But, there he was sitting right in front of me. You better believe I squeezed that penguin! Dreams really do come true!

The day continued into the evening where we enjoyed the park, the lights, the festivities, the shows, and our friendship. Point four: Jason knows I like affirmation and I treasure cards more than gifts. As we proceed through the park, Jason pulls me aside for my first “gift.” I sit on a bench while he awkwardly stares at me for a minute. Then he reaches into his coat pocket.

At this point, my heart skipped a beat and I thought, “This is it! He’s going to propose!” But instead, he pulls out a card that talks about his feelings for me. The night proceeds on like this, wandering through the park with Jason pulling me away from the crowd to give me a card. I really thought his gift to me was a card for every day he’d be gone on his mission trip.

The night was winding down and we had one more country to visit at Busch Gardens – Italy. Italy by far was the prettiest. There were white lights everywhere, and at this point, there was a light snow falling – the scene was just like a movie. He again pulls me to the side and I’m thinking to myself, “here is another card, yay!” He gives me the final card entitled “what’s next”. After reading the card, I thought that he was just telling me to wait until he came back from his trip. So I turn to look at him and thank him, and he starts talking… “Ngoc, you’ve captured my heart…”

He starts to get chocked up (I think I saw a tear!) and at this point, I realize, O.M.Gosh, it’s happening!! I can’t remember a word that he said, but he gets on one knee and I had to immediately sit down. I asked him, “Is this really happening??!” He then asks me to marry him! After a slight pause to catch my breath, I said, “Yes, of course!” I was so overwhelmed by emotions; so, we just hugged for what seemed like forever. I even forgot there was a ring involved! After 10 minutes of just holding each other, I finally was able to catch my breath and take a glimpse of the beautiful ring and then look into the beautiful face of my now fiancé!!

The yellow and pink “thank you” sign will make more sense tomorrow when I unleash the amazingness that was Ngoc & Jason’s wedding on you. This amazing couple planned an incredibly gorgeous, offbeat, modern Virginia wedding in only THREE MONTHS! Just wait until you see it!

For those that might want a sneak peak ~ check out our Facebook page tonight. I am going to share a favorite image to whet your whistle!

A special thanks again to Michelle VanTine Photography & Two Bright Lights for making this gorgeous, whimsical Virginia engagement session possible! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Ngoc & Jason’s wedding!