I met Alexandra and Keith at Capen park in Columbia, Missouri, and I instantly knew their session would be so much fun! They came dressed to impress and I loved their joyful energy. We strolled around Capen Park taking in the gorgeous fall scenery. The leaves are really showing off this year as vibrant pops of orange, yellow, and red livened up all of the backgrounds. Alexandra and Keiths were naturals in front of the camera. As I snapped away, their darling connection was a breeze to document. Laughter was ever present and their smiles were endless throughout the evening!
How They Met
Alexandra and Keith both attended Wesclin High School, with Keith having grown up in the area and Alexandra’s family having been relocated to Scott AFB. The summer before senior year, Alexandra’s family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. As prom approached, Alexandra needed a date to attend her previous high school’s prom with her best friends, and Keith sweetly offered to take her so she could be with them. The two hit it off and had a blast that evening. Graduation came and Alexandra moved to the area again to nanny for a family friend, and things started to kick off between the two.
With college approaching in the fall, they were hesitant to start dating. They kept in touch off and on until summertime before their sophomore year of college. Alexandra was back living in the area again as a family friend nanny and so she and Keith reconnected on a deeper level. They started dating long distance during their sophomore year of college, with Keith attending McKendree University and Alexandra attending The University of Southern Mississippi. The two had to work hard to build a solid foundation due to the distance, but they are so much stronger as a couple because of it!
Keith and Alexandra’s first solo date was to the St. Louis Zoo on a hot summer day. Alexandra offered to drive and, to her dismay, realized that she had to learn how to parallel park on one of the busiest afternoons at the zoo, on the spot, under Keith’s verbal direction. To say it was stressful is an understatement. Once parked, the two walked around the zoo “talking” and getting to know one another. It is an ongoing joke that Alexandra communicated via laughs and grunts (so no real words), at the beginning of dating, because she was so nervous. Keith says that the first date was a little awkward because of this, since Alexandra was so quiet. We love to joke about this now- especially since Alexandra talks all the time now.
The One
Keith: “There was never one moment where I knew, I knew she was the one by how consistent she was with our relationship. There were never any surprises or games just a real relationship built on old values like trust and faith. When I realized she would follow me into a fire and I would do the same for her, I knew she was one.”
Alexandra “One day when I was leaving his place I turned around to say goodbye and started to say “I love you” and caught myself at “I lo-” and instantly panicked because I had never thought those words yet to myself about him yet. They just word-vomited out. I cut myself off and said bye and basically ran to my car and drove away as fast as I could. Besides that moment, our love just steadily grew. We started officially dating our sophomore year of college, but long distance. I think our foundation of love grew on trust, because we had no other choice but to trust the other unless if they proved unworthy. I knew Keith was the one because over the years our conversations grew deeper and we have the right mixture of similar and different interests and have helped each other expand our horizons and balance each other out.”
How He Asked
Keith did such a wonderful job making the proposal special and perfect. Back in January 2017 for New Year’s Eve, they went to New Braunfels, Texas and it was like out of a movie. Alexandra and Keith kept hopping bar to bar and ended up at a fun piano bar for a while before heading to one of the hotels that was having a masquerade party, handing out champagne at midnight, and had a DJ. They walked into the hotel and it was a beautiful tunnel of drapes, balloons, and twinkle lights to the dance floor. Alexandra and Keith joined the party and received their champagne glasses and toasted with all the happy strangers around them. Keith and Alexandra exchanged a New Years kiss and that was the first time Keith told Alexandra he loved her.
Fast forward to December 2021, Keith and Alexandra were visiting her family in San Antonio, Texas and he had suggested that they go on a date to New Braunfels since it’s such a special town for them. Alexandra wholeheartedly agreed and they decided to go on December 28th. Keith secretly employed Alexandra’s mom to try to trick her to get her to go with them. Keith had her mom talk about how she had a girls date with a friend that day and eventually, Alexandra was like “well, we are all going to the same area at the same time- why don’t we three just carpool together?” (since it was about an hour away).
Alexandra remembers that Keith got quieter the closer they got to the destination. Her mom lightheartedly suggested that she take Keith and Alexandra’s pictures somewhere, and they decided on the gazebo in the little towns round-a-bout. Everything about New Braunfels is magical around Christmas with all the greenery and lights and decoration, so it was beautiful!
They walked up a couple of steps and Alexandra placed her hand over Keith’s chest and she remembers noticing that he was breathing really fast and that his heart was racing. Her mom had two phones going (one for pictures and a video of the moment). Alexandra started to get weirded out a little and then all of a sudden Keith grabbed both of her hands and turned her towards him and talked about how New Braunfels was special to them and how much he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, before he got down on one knee and asked Alexandra to marry him. She was so elated and emotionally overwhelmed in the best way and started crying before saying “of course!” and planting a big smooch on his smiling face. Alexandra remembers that all she cared about was kissing him and getting a hug before she looked down at the gorgeous ring he had designed for her. It was so special to be in public but also be in a setting that was intimate and alone from most people.
