Comfy, cozy, and full of so many meaningful details, this at home engagement session from Mariah Treiber Photography is about to tug at your heart strings. Josie and Al opted to take their pre-wedding pics in their very own kitchen – the one that they designed together, that Al renovated, and the same exact spot where he proposed. They drank wine (notice Josie’s “wedding planning glass”), snuck in some kisses, and even snapped a few photos with their dog, Lincoln, who wore a custom bandana, of course. If you aren’t already tearing up, you will be when you hear how they also paid homage to Josie’s late mom with the shoot. After taking photos inside the house, their cute couple headed outside to the streets, where an Alfa Romeo convertible was waiting. Josie’s mom had gifted the car to Josie’s dad many years ago and it has always been a source of great pride for her. The white wine they drank earlier was even some of Josie’s mom’s favorite. While this photo session might be casual and low key, it’s full of hidden meaning and sweet tributes – a winning combination if you ask us!
About the Couple
We have known each other since high school and reunited at a Drake concert. Al texted me the next day asking how I was doing and if I was up for dinner. We went out and the rest is history!
We bought a home together three years later and completely renovated our downstairs/kitchen area. Al built us the dream kitchen we always talked about. I ordered cakes for Al’s mom’s birthday. Al came home with three cakes and I knew I had only ordered two. We had a trip planned for that weekend and he said the other cake was for our trip. He knew I would open it to see what it was and there I found a cake that said “Will you marry me?” When I turned around, he was down on one knee in the middle of our kitchen, proposing! It was the perfect proposal, as it was very Al (laid back and meek), but it was so fitting that it was right where we have made so many memories and put in a lot of hard work together.
About the Session
Al is not much of a photo shoot kind of guy, but I wanted the memory of our engagement and I knew doing the shoot in the comfort of our own home would help put his mind at ease. I wanted a laid back kind of feel to meet Al’s personality, but I also wanted to capture the vibe of our home and relationship – cozy and comfortable. It was fall and the leaves had just started turning. Some of the pictures we took right in our backyard and the color scheme went with the season and Mariah’s photography style.
My mom passed away a few years ago and I knew not having my mom with me through wedding planning was going to be difficult, so I wanted to do whatever we could to remember and include her in our engagement photo shoot. We used a convertible Alfa Romeo for some of our shoot, which was the car my mom gifted my dad over a decade ago. She was so proud of this car and it was her favorite. We drank some white wine in our kitchen, as this was the wine my mom requested in her last hours. The bottle of wine we are holding outside our home was actually the last bottle of wine we drank with my mom. My dad actually brought it to the hospital as one of her last requests.
