ALEX + ANGELA ENGAGEMENT AT THE JACKSONVILLE ZOO
Hey!!! See, I’m keeping my word about posting my blogs!!! Im so proud of myself. Anyways, Ive got another gorgeous engagement session for you all today.
You might recognize Alex and Angela from another blog we did, Alex hired us to shoot his proposal! And we instantly became attached to their sweet love story and their friendly personalities. You can see their surprise proposal here.
When we were deciding where to do their engagement session, I immediately brought up my go to location: St. Augustine and a few other locations that came to mind but Angela nicely interrupted me and said that their first date was at the Jacksonville zoo and she really loves giraffes, like REALLY loves giraffes so she asked if we could do the engagement session at the zoo. I said “YES! PERFECT! “ I love being able to recreate dates, I think that's the beauty of photography!
We woke up the morning of the shoot and saw that the temperature was the coldest it's been in a while! It was 53 degrees and for us Floridans, thats chilly!! Okay, okay, thats not THAT cold BUT days prior, it was 74 degrees.. so, weather in the 50's was not expected at all! But Angela and Alex did not let it stop them from being super cute and hey, that just meant they got to cuddle a little extra! They were troopers, not a single complaint!
We started the session at Bold Bean coffee shop, in hopes to warm up a bit and quite frankly, just get coffee and hang out. Getting your pictures taken can be a little stressful, so we always like the "start" the engagement session by talking and getting to know them as a couple, it tends to make our more relaxed. We did end up taking a few pictures there because they were so dang cute!
Then, we were off to the main attraction, The Jacksonville Zoo to visit the giraffes. Like I said before, Alex & Angela's first date was at the zoo and after we delivered the same day sneak peeks, one of the images was at the exact same spot they took their very FIRST picture together at! How cool is that?!?! And, the pictures were exactly one year apart!! Man, i LOVE a great testimony! A few weeks prior to their first date, Angela was unsure about her future, she was even considering moving out of state. But she persevered and now can proudly say that God's plan is ALWAYS better! "God is faithful and it really is worth the wait."- Angela. Anyone else getting goose bumps?!?
As soon as we got to the zoo, we went straight to the giraffes. We were worried the cold weather was going to spook the giraffes away but they were still out there, thank goodness!! The cold weather did spook a lot people away, we didn't have to worry about crowds or photo bombers and for all you photographers, you know how amazing it is! Angela and Alex got to even feed the giraffes! it was so cute seeing angela’s eyes light up.
As the engagement session progressed, I was using my phone for something i've never used it for before! a little confused? Well, you see, as we were being all cute and exploring the zoo, the Jacksonville Jaguars were playing against the Steelers in the playoffs. This was a BIG deal. I was actually surprised Alex agreed to do the session on this day. But Alex actually lives in Orlando, and this was one of the only weekends he would be able to be in Jacksonville. Anyways, we were ALL rooting for the JAGUARS to take the win. Towards the end of the game, i was giving Alex the play by play as he was posing with Angela in front of Jerico ( another great advantage of having two photographers). Play by play. who am I kidding?!? haha.. I was basically just reading off the score to the very end... and guess what?! WE WON! GO JAGS!!! #DTWD
Check out how beautiful our zoo is, i can't get over these pictures! And the best part? These two love birds are getting married in 6 days! SIX DAYS! I know they can't wait, and we're right there with them!
Alex and Angela, we can't wait to be witness to such a beautiful love story. Im excited to see all the little ways you two incorporate your shared love for Disney into your wedding day and can't wait to see that beautiful smile of yours, Angela! I am so happy that you guys finally get to live in the same city!!!!
xoxo,
Kristina + Jerico
