Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of this day of love, we’re finally sharing our proposal and engagement photos! I wrote my side of the story, and then Graham wrote his side. It’s his first time writing for the blog so it’s a big deal. Scroll through for the stories, photos and a video from our trip. We loved working with Cecelina Photography to capture this special day!
OUR STORY – by Alisha
When Graham and I met more than six years ago, we were working at a summer day camp for kids, and I thought he was way too old for me (3 years seems like a lifetime when you’re 19). We started a conversation about Wimbledon (Federer was playing that day) and when we realized we were both tennis fans/players, he asked for my number so that we could hit sometime. We ended up dating long distance while I finished college, and then again when he started med school (before I finally moved to LA to be with him!).
In October, nearly six years after that first tennis date, our story came full-circle when we booked a trip to London, and he proposed at Wimbledon with the ring inside of a tennis ball!!
I knew this Europe trip would be special for us. Neither of us had taken a proper vacation in a while, and it was our first time traveling abroad together. When he asked me if we were getting a photographer to take photos of us, I definitely was suspicious. Graham is not one to ask for pictures, that’s usually my job! But I never would have expected the tennis ball to come into play! He continues to surprise me. I’m so excited to marry Graham and I love that we have these incredible photos from Cecelina Photography to look back on.
Alisha’s Favorite Image from the shoot
OUR STORY- by Graham
Lisha and I have been together for a little over 6 years. We met at a summer camp working as
counselors. I knew after getting to know her at work I wanted to try and continue dating when she headed back to college, but I wasn’t sure how we could manage a long-distance relationship. The situation never really seemed to phase us, as I think our willingness to make it work along with flexibility in schedules culminated in a fun set of memories. Fast forward a few years and career decisions where I found myself stressing, not about medical school coursework, but when and how I wanted to propose to Alisha.
Our first conversation and date centered around tennis and the Wimbledon tennis tournament in
England. I had my location, so I just needed to fill in the details after that. In March, 2017 while Alisha was in Bermuda, I spoke with her parents about my plans. Step 1, parents’ approval complete. The next phase involved lurking her Pinterest for ring ideas. Luckily, there was quite a nice collection of ideas to pick from. In September, 2017, I met with a family friend and designed a ring that matched her “Pinterests”. Step 2, Pinterest-inspired ring creation complete. All along, we had a trip scheduled to Europe for October, 2017 so my location was lined up. I just needed to figure out a way to capture the moment. Alisha claims this is where I “gave it away.” She wanted to hire a photographer for a day while in London. Apparently, because I seemed excited at the idea, she became suspicious. Oh well! So Step 3, pick the date and capture the moment complete.
The most stressful part about the whole process was attempting to chisel a hole in a tennis ball (without a sharp tool) so I could put the ring inside. It took a few hours while relaxing in our London hotel room. I managed to successfully complete the task without her noticing what I was doing. Thanks Instagram for distracting @alishylishy! On October 30th, 2017,
Alisha stared at me for about 10 seconds as my knee started to go numb on the concrete ground at Wimbledon before rejecting me…just kidding. She said YES!
Graham’s Fav Image from the shoot
The beginning of the shoot – pre-proposal
THE PROPOSAL
ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS
All images captured by Cecelina Photography. If you’re looking for a photographer in London, she’s amazing!
