Engagement sessions are the absolute best. It’s the perfect time to get to know the couple before shooting their wedding or elopement in this case. I find it so important to get to know your personlaity’s a but before the big day, it makes it so much easier and fun. All the nerves are gone. Quinnlyn and Mark chose the beautiful Poet’s Park in the Hudson Valley for their session. It was a stunningly beautiful day and the light was perfection. Quinnlyn answered a few questions about their relationship. I love reading these and I hope you do to! Read on to learn a little about their adorableness and check out their amazing engagement session.

How did you meet?

We met while working for the same company! I had actually quit the company a year prior but decided to go back (despite the hour commute and night shifts). I always say everything happens for a reason and that’s why I randomly decided to go back… because I was meant to meet my soulmate there! We had a small friend group of co-workers that started going out almost every night after work, and Mark and I really just clicked. We started texting all day every day (no exaggeration) and the rest is history!

When did you know... I'm going to marry this lovely human?

I honestly can't think of a moment where I was like "yes....him", but just the way we laughed and have always had the best time when we were together, even before we dated, I just felt like we had such a strong connection that I never felt with someone else.

Plus we were born on the same exact day, so I like to say we were literally "born for each other". Hahahaha

Tell us about you first date.

We went to Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca for a hike!

We drove 2 hours to Ithaca only to find the gorge trail was closed because it was icy. Mark was so disappointed because I had never been and he was so excited to show me, but we still got to hike the regular trail and had a blast!

What about your proposal?

Mark planned the most perfect proposal, especially because I was 100% surprised which is really hard to accomplish!

We love to go Geocaching together, so Mark found a 2 part Geocache on the Riverwalk in Owego and temporarily replaced the coordinates in the first container to lead me to the coordinates where the ring was. Once I found the cache I handed it to him so he could open it since he was so excited to find it, and thats when he got down on one knee! It was so sweet and I was so shocked. He even had his best friend in the distance disguised so he could photograph the moment.

What was the location for your engagement shoot and how did you choose it?

Kristin suggested so many great places it was hard to choose! We went with Poet's Walk Park in Red Hook because of the amazing photos we saw online when we were researching each place. We are so glad we chose this spot! The views of the Hudson River were amazing and there were so many great spots to take our photos. I would 100% recommend this spot to anyone not only for pictures, but just to enjoy!

What did you wear and why? What is your advice for other couples planning an engagement session to wear?

We both wore jeans and our favorite sweaters! I think wearing clothes that we were both familiar and comfortable in was really helpful when we were posing. We are both a bit awkward when it comes to photos so being in our comfy clothes really helped that too!

When choosing what to wear for your pictures I definitely recommend wearing clothes that you're comfortable in, whatever makes you feel confident and happy!

Were you nervous or anxious about your engagement session? How did it turn out?

We were both nervous for the session because neither of us have really had professional pictures taken before. As soon as we met up with Kristin, she instantly made the nerves go away. She is so bubbly and kind that we were way too busy laughing to be nervous. It was so much fun and our pictures are beautiful and genuine, so many shots of us being ourselves and laughing.

When and Where are you getting married and what made you choose that location? If you haven't chosen a venue, what are you looking for?

We are getting married at Russell Brook Falls in Roscoe, NY. This waterfall is a hidden gem nestled in the hills close to my hometown. I spent so much time here as a kid and always love taking people there to see the beautiful waterfall. When I took Mark here for the first time I remember telling him "this is where I want to get married someday", and now that dream is becoming a reality.

How are you feeling about the wedding planning process? I know this year has been a little different, do you have any advice for other couples planning a wedding?

We have decided to elope, so wedding planning has been a breeze! The only planning i've really done is just flowers, catering for the dinner afterwards with our families, the photographer (of course!) and some light decorations. A major reason behind our decision to elope was all the money and time we could save to have an intimate ceremony with a TINY reception, and use that to take an amazing honeymoon and save for things in our future that are more important to us. I love seeing other people's big weddings and all the amazing details, it just wasn't something we were interested in for ourselves!