We met Ayla and Will for a fun filled evening at Capen Park in Columbia, Missouri! From the moment these two stepped out of their car, we knew their session would be nothing short of amazing! The chemistry these two share is undeniable. It’s easy to see that Ayla and Will are pretty smitten with one another and we think it’s pretty apparent in all of their portraits. They cozied up with each other rather quickly in front of the camera as if they had modeled before – Such naturals they were! When you have a couple who share a connection like these two, paired with beautiful fall scenery, the session is inevitably going to be a favorite of ours! Every click of the shutter was amazing! We followed these love birds around while chasing sunlight for golden lit imagery. Their infectious smiles and joyful personalities had us wishing for more time with them! Seriously, these two couldn’t be more kind, genuine, and so full of life! We just adore them!
Their Love Story
Will and Ayla met in college while working as servers at the local Olive Garden. Ayla remembers her first day of training, perfectly. She was sitting at one of the tables with some of the other newbies when Will sat down in front of her and introduced himself. At the time, she thought “who is this goofball with the big grin and adorable dimples?” Little did she know…! Shortly after meeting Ayla, Will asked if they could meet for dinner downtown. Ayla actually wasn’t sure if they were on a date until he offered to pay for the meal. Which she obliged to only after he agreed that she could buy dessert. They shared great conversation and ended up closing the restaurant down. Ayla knew immediately she was pretty smitten when they spent the next hour chatting by their cars outside the restaurant.
Ayla knew pretty early on that Will was “The One” after seeing how great he was with her much younger sister. She discovered his soft side one day while the three of them were watching the Pixar movie Inside Out together. There’s a point in the movie (spoiler alert) where the beloved imaginary friend to the main character heroically sacrifices himself to save his friend. As Ayla looked over in Will’s direction, she saw he had big tears welled up in his eyes! She thought “Wow, I love this person”. If that wasn’t enough to win her over, she knew she wanted to marry him for sure when her very grumpy, begrudging dog who loathes everyone but her, accepted Will with little to no argument!
How He Asked
This year on Ayla’s birthday, they spent the day binging on Netflix and snacks. Around dinner time, Will asked if Ayla wanted to go to the winery in Rocheport. She wasn’t excited about having to move from the couch, but after some convincing, she threw her hair in a messy bun and off they went. They shared a lovely evening drinking wine, talking, laughing, and feeding a very friendly squirrel some grapes. Will left to use the restroom, at least that’s what he told Ayla. Much to her surprise, he was actually grabbing her ring from the car. When he came back, he acted a little nervous but she was too busy throwing food to the squirrel to really pay much attention. That’s when Will started a very serious conversation and when she looked up at him, confused, only to see him pulling a little black box out of his pocket. The rest is a teary blur! Such a sweet and romantic moment!!
We couldn’t be more excited for these Ayla and Will and their sweet love story! Soak up this sweet season you two- it will pass ever so quickly! Enjoy a little peak into our time with them! So much LOVE in these portraits! We are just over the moon about these!
