When Becca and Ryan let me know that they wanted their engagement portraits taken at their wedding venue, I was over the moon in excitement! Anita and Shannon with A Secret Place Weddings have created such a beautiful oasis with a french garden vibe. With many beautiful locations to choose from, their property truly has it all. From garden areas, to fields flowing with tall grasses, to a serene lake, A Secret Place is quite literally perfection. It’s a photographers dream to shoot here because of all the gorgeous light, coupled with amazing locations.
When Becca and Ryan arrived with their two dogs, Granger and Luna, I knew their session was about to be even better! I LOVE when couples include their fur babies! It took a bit of warming up to the camera, but once they did, these two doggos were great! Becca’s sister even joined in the fun and tried her best at getting the pups to look at the camera for me! I had so much fun strolling around the garden spaces with Becca and Ryan. They have such a sweet connection, so it made photographing their love easy as ever. The way these two look at each other is something special. The evening was full of constant laughter with Ryan’s sense of humor! He always keeps Becca Laughing.
How They Met
Ryan and Becca met in 2016 while attending William Woods University. They had known about each other from college sports, he played baseball and she played soccer, however the two had never formally met. Becca had a huge crush on Ryan and thought he was out of her league. Ryan and Becca happened to be on campus at the same time during Thanksgiving break with some of their mutual friends in the fall of 2016. They all decided to get together as they were the only students on campus. The night was a bit crazy! Becca and Ryan, along with the mutual friends ended up going to a party with ducks roaming around, climbed to some roofs on campus, and ran from security. Ever since that night, Ryan and Becca were inseparable. They literally spent every day together after that night!
Since Becca and Ryan spent so much time together after meeting, Becca never really remembers having a “first date,” Ryan, however, remembers things differently. Ryan took Becca to his favorite restaurant in Columbia, Flat-branch Brewery. He remembers being excited for their first date but also nervous because he’s shy by nature and thought Becca was smokin hot! He can remember being more nervous when she invited him to meet her entire family for Christmas in a few weeks. After a first date full of great conversations, Ryan knew there would definitely be a second date! One of the things Ryan loved about Becca back then and still to this day is how straight forward she was with her feelings and intentions on their first date and she continues to almost 6 years later.
The One
Becca knew after the first week that she had found the one! Becca and Ryan connected on so many different levels and she had never felt that way with any one else she had dated in the past. Within the first week, Becca felt more love for Ryan than any other relationship she had up to that point. Becca remembers talking to her sister about Ryan meeting her family for the first time at Christmas. Becca told her sister that she thought Ryan was the one! Becca’s sister yelled at her for saying that because they had only been dating for a month and they were not official. Becca had to tell her to be nice to him when first meeting him because she was still upset at Becca for being so decisive about Ryan!
Ryan doesn’t know that there was a specific time that he knew Becca was the one, but he knew very early on after all the time they had spent together connecting and talking about their futures, that Becca was the one! On December 20th, Ryan took Becca to meet his family and they hit it off. After that, Ryan and Becca went to the magic tree on Cherry Hill and he asked her to be his girlfriend. Ryan knew right then and there that he would never be with anyone else!
How He Asked
The one thing Becca asked of Ryan was to make the proposal a complete surprise! They had been together for 5 years and have their routines with not many surprises. He hid every aspect of the proposal from Becca and also led her to believe it wasn’t going to happen until much farther in the future. For weeks and maybe even months, every time Becca would use the restroom at their favorite restaurant, Ryan and his mom would discuss plans to buy a ring and propose. They came up with a plan to go to L.C. Betz early one morning while Becca was still asleep and picked out a ring. Ryan got help from his mom, sister, and Becca’s two sisters. A week later, the ring was ready and Ryan knew right away that it was perfect for Becca. He considered many different ways to propose, some very elaborate, others not so much. Ryan wanted both of their families to be involved because they are very close.
Finally, Ryan decided he could’t wait any longer! On a typical Friday, Becca was working from home and babysitting her niece. It had snowed about 5 inches the following day. Becca’s sister surprised her by coming to pick her niece up early, and Ryan also surprised Becca by coming home early from work and asking if she wanted to go on their daily hike with the dogs earlier than usual. This meant they would have more daylight and would see the sunset since it set so early in the winter.
During the hike, Becca and Ryan went to their favorite spot on Rhetts Run. It’s a cliff overlooking a flat area of the trail where their dogs typically run around and play. Ryan dropped down on one knee and surprised the heck out out Becca. He was so nervous that he doesn’t even remember what he said to Becca. She actually didn’t believe Ryan, because for weeks up until this point, he would drop down on a knee randomly to make Becca believe he was proposing… to then just tie his shoe or pick something off the ground. Becca just kept asking, “are you serious?!” After the hugs, kisses, and happy tears, they saw camera flashes from the trees where Ryan’s mom was hiding. That night, they celebrated at their favorite restaurant with all of their family!
