When Molly and Matthew began planning for their engagement session, I instantly knew it would be a memorable one! Molly and Matthew currently live in Nashville where they are both professional dancers. They actually met through dancing. Molly mentioned how she wanted to incorporate dancing into their session and I was so excited to document something so special for them! Luckily our schedules lined up when they planned to return to Jefferson City to visit Molly’s family, so the countdown began for their session date. We had the nicest weather for their October session! With beautiful sunshine and perfect temperatures, I knew the evening was looking promising!
We met at the Missouri Capitol where Molly and Matthew came dressed in their fancier outfit. I knew from the start of the session that their love would be so easy to document! They effortlessly fell into poses and prompts and let their true personalities shine within the first few minutes. Matthew kept Molly giggling throughout the evening and their sweet dynamic was just infectious. You cannot help but smile when you are around these two! As we strolled around the capital, I kept telling Molly and Matthew that they could be professional models. You can tell their background in dance has them extra connected to one another.
After they changed outfits, we got to see their more fun and playful sides! Molly and Matthew were so cute and giddy with each other as we strolled around by the fountains and took in all the pretty landscaping at the Governors Garden. Just as we were reaching sunset time, Molly and Matthew changed one last time. We headed to a parking garage where I knew magic was about to happen! We let Molly and Matthew take the lead and these two danced their hearts out as the perfect sunset light glowed behind them. They did so many moves and made everything look so effortless. It was during their dancing portraits you could see just how much they care for one another. The connection is truly undeniable and I’m so excited I got to document it all. Thanks to Molly and Matthew, I captured some of my new favorite images!
How They Met
Molly and Matthew met in Cleveland, Ohio after both moving there for their first professional dance contracts at the Dancing Wheels Company. They were coworkers and good friends for a couple of years before they started dating! For their first date, Molly and Matthew knocked off a couple of their summer bucket list items: a rooftop bar for drinks and then a dive bar for burgers and karaoke. By the time they shared their first date in July 2019, they already knew each other so well by that point but they were still pretty nervous about changing their relationship. Thankfully, it was an awesome night, and they were able to relax and have fun as usual, but better!
When Did you know your partner was the one?
Matthew: “It was never a question.”
Molly: “Almost immediately. Honestly, it’s almost embarrassing how fast I fell for Matthew, but everything just felt so right. I’m not one to believe in fate or soul mates, but I knew from the beginning that we were meant to be together.”
How He Asked
So anyone that knows Molly knows she is super type A and needs to be prepared for everything, at all times, no matter what. But… she also likes surprises… so Matthew gave her a bit of a timeline of when to expect a proposal (May-July). Then in June, Molly suddenly had all kinds of random events planned with each of their mutual friends, and while she hang out with friends pretty frequently, that was definitely suspicious. On Monday of the week Matthew proposed, he showed up while Molly was having dinner with a friend and her mom… dressed up all nice… gets down on one knee… and pulls out… a letter and a gift about their love story.
This happened again that Thursday while Molly was having drinks with another friend after yoga. After two fake outs, Molly was CONVINCED that Matthew would propose FOR REAL at a dance photoshoot she had that Saturday, but HE FAKED HER OUT AGAIN!!! Molly was a little bummed because she was so sure it would be that day, but she carried on with her photoshoot. THEN about 15 minutes later, Molly was coming out of a pose when she turned around and saw Matthew was back again, but this time with a ring!! It was the most perfect fully-prepared, yet somehow surprised moment of her life. After the proposal, Molly was whisked away to one of their favorite spots in East Nashville where their families and a bunch of their friends were waiting to celebrate at a surprise engagement party! Molly says it was seriously, the best day of her life (until the wedding)!
I cannot wait to work with these two again for the wedding day next year! I had the best time getting to know them both and I have no doubt their wedding will be amazing and full of endless dancing!
