We officially met Allison and Mike at Forest Park in St. Louis for their engagement session! What a perfect evening it was spent with this darling pair! From the moment Allison and Mike arrived, we knew that we would have so much fun with them. They both came dressed to impress, and right away, we got along with them so well. It’s clear that Allison and Mike are quite smitten with one another. Capturing their undeniable connection was almost too easy. We loved venturing around Forest Park with these two and getting to know them better as we documented their sweet love.
How They Met
Mike and Allison have a mutual friend who had a pool party in the summer of 2017. Allison had just graduated college and moved to St. Louis. Her best friend Abby was dating a guy named Jon, and he had a roommate named Michael. They had all been living in St. Louis for a year or two before Allison moved to town. Allison had only ever heard “Jon’s roommate Mike.” So when Allison arrived to the pool party with her friends, she said “Hi” to everyone she knew. Then, Allison got introduced to “Jon’s roommate Mike.” The two only chatted briefly that day after officially meeting one another.
Later on in the year, Allison had a housewarming party, and Jon brought Mike over with him. Allison and Mike chatted that entire night and really hit it off. At the time, Allison was heavily traveling for work and didn’t see friends for weeks at a time. A couple months after the house warming party, Abby invited Allison out to their local hang out, Double D’s karaoke, and said we would be meeting up with Mike and Jon. Jon and Abby were going to the Blues game the next night, and kept heavily mentioning that Allison and Mike should also go with them. Mike brushed it off at first, and then a little while later said, “Hey are these seats good for tomorrow night?” Allison didn’t think he was being serious, but he was! So they headed to the Blues game the following evening and had a blast. What made that night even funnier is that Allison and Mike awkwardly ran into so many of his friends that night, and they were both uncomfortable when it came to introductions since it was just their first date. Both Allison and Mike knew early on that they wanted to spend forever together. This was solidified one evening when the two spent the night talking on the phone for four hours while Allison was away on a work trip. They knew then, that they couldn’t be without each other.
How He Asked
Allison– “I am obsessed with Christmas, I have multiple Christmas trees, I collect ornaments, I watch The Grinch 10 times from Thanksgiving to December. Michael knows this and always plans Christmas themed dates all of December for me. For example, Christmas lights at the Botanical Garden, Zoo Lights, we’ve gone to a Grinch Play, Christmas Pop up bars, and Christmas at Union Station. He suggested we spend a weekend in KC before Christmas with my family since we had never gone to Christmas events there. So I said great and planned the entire weekend. We would go to Union Station in KC, eat dinner on the Plaza and see the lights there, and then drive through Longview Lights. My sister, Bailee, was in town from Arizona and wanted to meet a friend for dinner on the Plaza so she just rode with us. Bailee and Michael were being so strict about being on time this day, it was almost annoying. So we get to the Plaza and we are walking around, trying to find a good spot to take some pictures. I thought my sister was being annoying about getting the perfect place for a picture because we were walking around everywhere. So we finally stop at a spot, Bailee told Michael to take a picture of us, and he did. So then she said okay, I’m going to take one of you guys now.”
As she was taking the picture, Michael got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was in such disbelief that the moment was happening and in complete shock that I just started saying ” No way! No way! No way!” He was still standing on one knee, and goes “So are you going to answer me?” And I said “Yes! Yes! Of course, I Love you!” Then he surprised with the cutest ornament that was two reindeers that said “Will you marry me?” at this point I cried. He then said both of our immediate families were waiting at my favorite BBQ spot, shout out Jack Stack, to surprise us. It was the best night, and he couldn’t have done anything better. I was so surprised and the night incorporated all of my favorite things and people.
Michael– “Allison absolutely loves Christmas so when December rolls around we’re always doing something holiday-themed. I decided that I wanted to propose to her in the city she grew up because we were yet to experience Christmas in KC together. Once I decided I was doing it around Christmas in KC I texted Allison and told her my idea of going to KC the weekend of December 19th. She got really excited and immediately started planning the weekend (she planned her own engagement without even realizing it). Once we got to KC, Allison, Bailee (Al’s sister) and I headed to Plaza KC to look at lights. Her sister asked if she could take a picture of the both of us and that is when I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes after kneeling there for what felt like 10 minutes.”
I think it’s safe to say Allison and Mike are the absolute perfect pair! We couldn’t be any more excited for these two to become husband and wife next May! I will most definitely be counting down the days until I get to have these two back in front of my camera again. I know their wedding will be nothing short of amazing, and documenting their love story will be so easy! Enjoy some of my favorites from their recent session. Many more to come! Congratulations Allison and Mike!
