Inspiration

Intimate & Chic D.C. Engagement Session

If you asked Shannon, she would say that it was “love at first sight” when she met Anthony. She had just moved onto campus at the University of Maryland in August of 2007. She didn’t know anyone at the university yet, so she called one of her best friends (who went to a school nearby) to pick her up so they could hang out. Little did she know he was bringing along a friend with him; a friend that would change her life forever.  “I remember exactly how I felt when he got out of the car and I first laid eyes on him. It was electric, yet oddly familiar; almost as if I knew him already although he was a complete stranger,” said the bride. “I knew nothing about him but I knew that I wanted him to be mine.” Less than five minutes after being in the car with him, she sent a text to her friend who was driving, professing her new found love. After a few weeks of him “playing it cool,”  she had enough and decided to boldly pursue him. Anthony will beg to differ, but he knows deep down inside that if it wasn’t for her, their love story may have never been told. Check out their intimate engagement session captured by Rhea Whitney Photography

Bride: Shannon K. Minor; 27 years old; Paralegal for The  D.C. Office of Attorney General and NFL Cheerleader for the Washington Redskins

Groom: Anthony D. Shepherd II; 30 years old; Doctor of Physical Therapy

Place of residence: Upper Marlboro, MD

Engagement Shoot Location:  Library of Congress and Georgetown, Washington, DC

Wedding date: July 6, 2017

Proposal Story:  

We went to a New Year’s Eve party/birthday party for one of our mutual friends in DC. Throughout the night, I noticed that he was very quiet and looked very focused on something else other than the party that was going on around him. I asked him a few times if everything was okay and he continuously told me that he was fine. The night was still young, so I decided to ask some of our friends that we traveled with, to come upstairs to our apartment to keep the party going. Little did I know, they knew about the proposal all along and were already planning to come upstairs with us to celebrate. As I opened the door to the apartment, I see that the entire living room  is covered in rose petals, balloons, and candles. Initially, it didn’t click to me that this was the set up for a proposal as I was so concerned with how someone got into the apartment because I was SURE to have locked the door. (I checked twice before we left!) Still confused, I removed my coat and turned around to see him down on one knee! He’s usually a jokester and I didn’t believe him at first. Once I noticed that all of our friends were recording on their cell phones, I knew this was the real deal and he popped the question! Before we left, he left his key under the mat so his parents  could secretly come into the apartment and decorate it while we were gone! It’s pretty hard to surprise me, but he did and I couldn’t be happier. 

From the Groom: Walk us through the behind the scenes of creating this special day

I started looking for the ring while I was in the mall doing some Christmas shopping. After hours and days of consideration, I finally found the perfect one and all I had to do was come up with a plan to bring everything together. For the engagement, I knew I wanted it to be special but had no clue of what I was going to do. After 3-4 days of trying decide what to do, I finally figured it out. I knew I couldn’t pull it off alone so I got my mother and my step-father to assist. The day of the engagement, I got up went and bought candles, rose petals, balloons and few other items to decorate the room. I called my mom and told her that I wanted her to come into the house while we were out with friends at a party and decorate the living room, so that when we got back in the house, the mood would be set and I could ask the big question. Needless to say everything was a success. She was super surprised, super excited, and as you can see, she said yes.

What makes your love special?

Our love is special because of it’s simplicity. Loving someone shouldn’t be hard. It should be genuine and effortless. It also doesn’t take a lot to make each other happy, as long as we have each other.

What was the theme of your shoot? 

There were two themes to our shoot: Classy/Traditional and Laid Back. We chose to do a more formal look at the Library of Congress because we love getting dressed up and looking sharp. We also chose to do a more relaxed look with jeans at the cool graffiti cliff in Georgetown because we are a very playful and laid back type of couple. We felt these two shoots characterized our relationship perfectly. 

Were there any memorable moments during the shoot?

Some memorable moments we had during the shoot was getting some awesome shots with us (literally) sitting on the edge of a cliff. Also, there was a 5K race happening at the same time, so we were able to have quite the audience enjoying our shoot as well. 

What are you most looking forward to about your wedding?

I am most looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life with such an amazing person and having our family and friends there to celebrate with us. 

Have you started planning your wedding?

Yes. With the wedding being around the corner, most of the planning is done, but any bride will tell you, the job is never done 🙂 I was thankful to have a great wedding coordinator and such great vendors to work with. I am also very thankful for a couple of my girlfriends and family members who were phenomenal with helping me and being there for me every step of the way during
this process. I could not have done it without them! 

Congratulations to the happy couple! We wish you a wonderful wedding and marriage.

Sources

Rhea Whitney Photography|Make Up by Kiersten Lynn

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