Williams & Oliver Engagement Session | Connecticut Engagement Session

Elijah and Ollie-Rubiah were together three years prior to getting engaged. They met on Facebook in 2012, which, was an accident that turned to a blessing! Elijah accidentally sent Ollie a Facebook friend request, and it was a simple Facebook message that led them to meet up for the first time at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Connecticut, where they both worship. And it was at the 2012 News Years Eve service where they officially met. They talked for hours and have been inseparable ever since. With Ollie’s fun loving personality, Elijah’s sense of humor and their God-fearing souls, this pair describe their connection to be destiny. And their love doesn’t stop there; it couldn’t because they took it all the way to an airfield in Hartford, Connecticut. Check out Ollie and Elijah’s unique engagement session at the Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, captured by TimeFrozen Photography.

Bride: Ollie-Rubiah Williams, Special Education Teacher

Groom: Elijah A. Oliver, CEO, Take F.L.Y.G.H.T Enterprises, Higher Education Professional

Place of residence: Windsor, Connecticut

Engagement Shoot Location: Meriden Markham Municipal Airport and Blue Back Square, West Hartford, Connecticut

Wedding date: August 5, 2016

Engagement story:

I thought I was attending and supporting Elijah at an awards ceremony, where he was giving a speech for being “honored” for the work he does professionally and in the community. When family and friends started making their way one by one, I couldn’t help but wonder why some of my out-of-town friends and family members were present. It finally clicked when Elijah’s speech turned into a story of his amazing love for me and how fortunate and blessed he was to have such an amazing queen in his life. Elijah called upon a good friend, who sings internationally, to sing a love medley of some of their favorite gospel and R&B songs. Elijah also performed a mix of spoken word and a freestyle rap entitled “I Found Love,” which was a 2016 rendition of LL Cool J’s 1987 hit song, “I Need Love.” That’s when he got down on one knee and asked me to share the rest of my life with him.

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

I hate to say it, but it was a lot of lying and fabrication! I can’t get anything past her since she’s very inquisitive. I wanted to throw her completely off! It’s typical that people propose on special occasions, however being that it was my birthday (9/26/2015), she would never have thought the moment would be about her. So I strategically told some of her family and friends, which were those I knew could keep a secret. It wasn’t easy, but it was well worth it. The day of the event, I told her I had to go set up, which wasn’t really a lie. I did have to set up, however I also met with all of the guests to give them the inside scoop of what was about to happen. Needless to say, it went off without a hitch and she was completely surprised.

What makes your love special?

We believe there are several factors that contribute to how special we feel our love is: First, we love God! We also love to laugh and have fun. Elijah is determined, self-motivated and conscientious, while I have a great sense of humor and intelligence. We care about each other deeply and putting our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ first in our lives makes our love special. Secondly, when we first started dating in 2013, we made a vow that we would wait until our wedding day to be intimate with one another. We were married after three years of dating. Lastly, what’s also amazing to note – is that Elijah laid eyes on me ten years prior before we met. I sang in the choir at our church and he never uttered a word to me directly. As he admired me from a distance, in a joking, nonchalant manner, he said to himself “Oh, that’s my wife.” Never did he realize the power of the tongue and speaking things into existence. Through failed relationships over the years, unbeknownst to him, the words he spoke would come to fruition years later.

What was the theme of your shoot?

The inspiration for our engagement session was “Love is in the Air.” We wanted to incorporate airplanes into their scene to reflect our lives taking off to greater heights. We ventured out to Meriden Markham Municipal Airport to bring our inspiration to life. Also, we’re both sports fanatics. Elijah played basketball in college, and I played Division I field hockey in college, so we wanted incorporate that into our session as well. We stopped at the West Hartford Center along the way since many of our first dates took place there.

Were there any memorable moments during the shoot?

We enjoyed each other’s company and had a really great time! One of the our most memorable moments involved us watching the landing planes and realizing just how close they were to us. We ended up creating the tag line, “respect the propeller!”