Engagement Session: A.J. & Amanda

November 22, 2014

Engagement Session: A.J. & Amanda

May 17, 2014 ~ Cape Canaveral, FL ~ Engagement Session: A.J. & Amanda

Back in the Spring of 2014, I got an e-mail from a gorgeous darling named Amanda. She asked to book an engagement session with her fiancé, A.J. I said “Yes!“. And then I did what everyone in America does: I went and looked her up on FB. My jaw dropped and I started 2nd guessing if I could do their amazing selves justice, because holy cow, they were two very. good. looking. people. Haha.

Amanda was a dancer and an elite cheerleader. She was Captain of the UF Dazzlers Team.

So I prayed and prayed and prayed (for a whole month) that I wouldn’t blow it,
that we would have fun & great light, and that God would bless this engagement session,
and prepare their hearts for marriage – (they wed on Oct 4, 2014!!).

And y’all.

The whole session blew me away and continues to blow me away by how God blessed us.

We had incredible light, gorgeous weather, they were so chill and relaxed and in love,
we couldn’t stop laughing, and I had the most fun I’d had in forever. I love new best friends. 😉

And I might have hugged Amanda about 3 times in the first 5 minutes, because her best friend was marrying my best friend’s brother!!I love connections like that. So much crazy life. We shot the first half of their session at a park in Merritt Island, and the second at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. They seriously could do no wrong.
I was the happiest photographer on the entire planet.

Ok, disgusting story alert – I asked A.J. & Amanda to sit on the sidewalk and cuddle up
(because look at that buttery light behind them). And I squished back into these mangroves and palms,
and I’m snapping away, and I feel something crawling on my neck. I freeze. “Uhhh, guys, hold on a second.”
Meanwhile, I’m praying my heart out it’s a spider, it’s a snake, it’s a grasshopper, it’s a lizard, anything,
oh anything but….” “Guys, ok, something is on me. Can you look over and see what it is?”.

Their faces freeze. That can’t be good.

Amanda’s face goes into the panic mode, just short of screaming “NNNNOOO”,
A.J. calmly gets up “It’s a cockroach. It’s on your neck. No wait….”,
and I finish the sentence: “It’s on my ear….oh no. it’s in my hair.”

THERE WAS A COCKROACH CLIMBING UP MY NECK TO MY EAR AND INTO MY HAIR.

Again: MY HAIR.

Me, *totally dying inside because I hate cockroaches above all else*
“Ok, A.J. I need you to come and pull it out of my hair and kill it.”
(my hands were holding a camera, plus I was frozen)
So A.J. comes over and tries to pull it out of my curls, while I feel it crawling (ugh),
and eventually, he pulls it out and smashes it with his flip flop while Amanda and I regain the use
of our vocal chords and scream girly screams with every whack of his sandal.
Thank you, A.J.!!! I owe you big time.

And THAT, my dear people, is the lengths that I as your Photographer will go to, to get the shot.
I will get injured and have bugs crawl on me, and will be your cheerleader & confidant.

A.J. kept saying “I can’t believe you stayed so still. I can’t believe you didn’t scream.”.
I just went into total “I will take care of this situation and I will kill whatever this is.”
mode. Hahaha. Such a great story, but one I never ever ever want to repeat.
(ok, back to the pictures with less drama)