When Chelsie and I began discussing location ideas for their engagement session, she immediately expressed wanting to visit a christmas tree farm if possible. We spent several weeks trying to find the perfect tree farm that would be able to coordinate with our schedule and finally, we received the answer we were wanting! We were so excited for the opportunity to photograph at Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Boonville, Missouri. We met with the owner of the tree farm earlier in the day before the scheduled session for a tour of all the property. He showed us his favorite trees and best spots on the farm for portraits and we were in heaven! When Chelsie arrived in her red dress, we knew the photos were going to be absolutely perfect! With the holidays just around the corner, Chelsie couldn’t have chosen a more perfect outfit to pair with a christmas tree farm!
Chelsie and Dylan are an adorable pair! Dylan took a bit to warm up to the camera, but once he was comfortable, the session was a breeze! We strolled around the christmas tree farm with Chelsie and Dylan, utilizing all the great locations it has to offer! An hour of time quickly passed and we were off to our next destination. Chelsie and Dylan changed into a more casual look that was perfect for our next location. The temperatures were amazing and we had the best evening photographing these two.
Fall is in full affect and vibrant foliage could be seen in every direction you looked at the park! We were in heaven all evening long seeing all the beautiful colors and chasing gorgeous light! Chelsie and Dylan had loosened up by the end of the session and made our job easy! We love how cute they are when they’re together! We cannot wait to see them again next year for their fall wedding.
Their Love Story
Chelsie’s view: Dylan and Chelsie first met at a racetrack in September of 2008 through their Dads. Chelsie was in 8th grade. After the races, Chelsie went down to her dads trailer where Dylan and several other people were. She didn’t really pay much attention to who was there, but the next thing she remembers is her dad saying, “Boy don’t even think about looking at my daughter.” Everyone there immediately laughed. The only thing Dylan even said to Chelsie at the time was, “Hey I’m Dylan.” A couple of months later, Chelsie received a myspace friend request and eventually facebook request from Dylan.
Dylan’s view: After Dylan got back from spending the summer with his grandpa in Oklahoma, he had just got into racing. One night, while attending a race that his dad and Chelsie’s dad raced in, he met Chelsie.
Chelsie doesn’t really remember their first actual real date. They never really hung out until after her 16th Birthday because they didn’t live in the same town. Though they weren’t living in the same town, she remembers that they texted each other a lot. Dylan and his family showed up to Chelsie’s sweet 16 party and Dylan had created her a hand drawn pink and teal card (which Chelsie still has to this day.) Once the two began hanging out, they would drive around the backroads, and eventually end up at sonic on the business loop. They had a coupon for free route 44 drinks. The sonic employees never collected the coupon, so Chelsie and Dylan were able to get free drinks more than a dozen times before they finally lost the coupon. They continued to hang and drive around, usually with a group of friends until they got into a big fight. Chelsie told Dylan not to talk to her ever again and she ignored him for a long while.
Eventually, in 2015 Chelsie and Dylan would reconnect with one another after high school. Shortly after Dylan’s mom passed away, Chelsie reached out to him and they began to talk again just like they had years before in high school. To Dylan, even after all the years that had passed, he felt a strong level of comfort with Chelsie and he remembers it feeling like they had never stopped talking in the first place. They rekindled their spark as they reminisced about old times and once again drove down that old backroad they traveled with each other years before. Andy’s frozen custard and some good tunes on the radio made for a perfect evening!
After about a week of back and forth texting and catching up on life, Dylan asked Chelsie if he could pick her up after class because he needed someone to talk to. Chelsie was taking evening summer classes at Columbia College at the time, and told him sure but had one stipulation. She said she would only come along with him if she could be the passenger DJ. Dylan agreed and they stopped and got ice cream. Chelsie could tell that Dylan might be the one because he genuinely cared about her and had her back. Dylan was a shoulder on her worst days when she wanted to shut the world out. He never questioned it but just gave Chelsie her space and was there physically when she wanted him to be no matter how late it was. Dylan knew there was something special with Chelsie when she reached out to him after his mom had passed away.
How He Asked
Dylan and Chelsie had talked about marriage a few times but nothing really serious until one evening they decided to go to KT Diamond Jewelers in Columbia to see what they had to offer. Neither of them had been diamond shopping before or knew what to expect. After a few trips, Dylan asked what kind of ring Chelsie wanted. She told him if he were to get her one, she would be happy and that Dylan could pick it out. Chelsie told Dylan to get on her dream wedding Pinterest board to help him see the style of rings she liked! Dylan kept it a good secrete for a little bit while the stone was being put in the setting for Chelsie’s engagement ring, until the night he went and picked it up. Chelsie knew Dylan was excited and had the ring because he kept telling everyone around her and showing them. Chelsie knew he had a ring but didn’t know his plans for proposing.
It was a Friday evening when they were sitting on the couch discussing where they wanted to go out for dinner that night. When Chelsie’s mom, niece, and her friend walked in, she asked them what they were doing and Chelsie’s mom said, “Harper wants to show you her outfit she’s wearing that you got her.” Chelsie didn’t think anything of it. Chelsie’s mom’s friend was like, “I need to show you something on my phone, let me see if I can find it.” Her mom’s friend wasn’t looking though her phone to find anything, in fact, she was actually videoing. Chelsie’s mom took Harpers jacket off of her and she ran to the other side of our living room. When Harper turned around, Chelsie started to read her shirt that said “Will you make Dylan my real uncle?” and immediately looked at Dylan and said, “oh my gosh, shut up. Is this real life?! Are you serious?! Dylan replied with something along the lines of “no I’m joking, I just wanted to see your reaction.. Yes I’m serious.” They then went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse where Dylan had asked Chelsie to be his girlfriend a few years before and enjoyed the rest of the night! Dylan claims to not be a romantic type of guy, but this was such a thoughtful and sentimental proposal if you ask me! Great job Dylan.
Congratulations Chelsie and Dylan! You two have gone through so much as a couple and we know great things are in store for the two of you as you embark on this new journey together! We hope you enjoy some of our favorites from the session! Many more to come.
