I met with Jen and Phil on a gorgeous evening in downtown Jefferson City, Missouri for their engagement session. Their session couldn’t have been more perfect with all the gorgeous blooms around the capitol grounds. Jen and Phil were full of laughter throughout the evening. We enjoyed taking in all the pretty scenery downtown JC has to offer! We ended our time together at Paddy Malone’s, where Jen and Phil first met up for drinks. It only made sense to document some cute portraits where it all began.
How They Met
Jen and Phil briefly met in passing while working together at HyVee grocery store during their teenage years/early 20s. They had seen each other often while hanging out with friends at the time. Not until about 13 years later did they finally meet again, and really got to know each other further. One Thursday night in March of 2019, Jen received a message and a friend request from Phil – realizing who she was. Jen and Phil spent the next afternoon catching up over lost time, and after a few weeks, Phil asked Jen out for “drinks only, nothing serious!” By the end of the “first date” Phil asked Jen a second date.
Since it was “just drinks, nothing serious,” Jen was really at this place of “nothing serious.” She had her hair done that morning, and was feeling fabulous! Phil asked Jen to go to Paddy Malones (the local Irish pub) for a drink, and Jen walked in the front door, while he was already seated. Phil still speaks of this moment to this day, and says “it was like out of a movie – your hair blew with the breeze of the front door, and OH MY, you were so beautiful! Your hair looked amazing!” Jen remembers the date going really well, thinking – “he’s cute! Check. He dresses well – check. He’s great in conversation – check! He speaks well of his family and daughter – Great!”
Jen says she knew on their first date that Phil was the one for her. First impressions are everything, and she enjoyed how Phil was lighthearted and funny! He always dresses well, and that was one of the very first things that peaked her interests. He was great in conversation (he’s in sales, so that’s par for the course!) But their first few conversations really went well. Both Jen and Phil are career driven, their family and friends mean everything to them, they love to have fun, catch a baseball game here and there, love to travel, eat and drink well! All of these things really drew Jen to Phil quickly.
How He Asked
Jen and Phil had been talking about their future for a long time. Since last fall, Jen had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about being ready for an engagement. She was patiently and eagerly WAITING for the big moment to happen! By early March of this year, Phil had finally decided that he was ready to propose. Jen and Phil had always talked about going to CC’s City Broiler for a nice dinner. After calling over, and over, and over again (35 times. Some people called over 300 times on Valentines Day, the hostess said!) They finally got reservations. Jen and Phil both got ready. Jen climbed in the car – and waited for Phil to get in the car with her. She looked like a hawk, trying to spot a ring box in his pants pocket – and saw NOTHING. She thought ok, what tricks does he have up his sleeve? After a great dinner (steak and lobster tail for him, Jen got a wonderful lobster pasta) and a glass (or two!) of red wine, Jen had stopped wondering WHEN it was going to happen.
Phil excused himself to the restroom. After a few minutes, Jen saw him out of the corner of her eye, coming to the opposite side of her from where he was originally before he left for the restroom. Phil is usually doing something silly as a joke, so Jen never knows what’s coming next… She realized he was beside her, down on one knee, and said “I know you didn’t want it to happen here because you would be embarrassed, but our waitress, Brooke was in on this the whole time, and I don’t want to wait any longer – will you marry me?” Looking up, seeing their waitress Brooke with Phil’s phone, recording the whole thing… Jen was tearing up, nodded yes, and she heard a gentleman at the next table yell “IS THAT A YES?!?” Jen said “YES!” and cheers erupted from the rest of the tables in the room! It really was like out of a movie. Jen always hates being on the spot – but that was fun!
Congratulations to Jen and Phil! We are so excited for your upcoming wedding day. Enjoy a peek into a few of our favorites from the session.
