Caroline & Mike:
Mike and Caroline met over 8 years ago and started dating on March 2, 2009. They were just babies in high school that met playing volleyball, a sport they both love and continue to play today. About 4 months into their relationship the Pixar movie, Up, hit theaters. Both being Disney fans and loving animated movies they made a date night out of it. When the movie was over and we were walking back to the car, Mike said he loved her for the first time. Since that moment they have always incorporated Up into their life. From themed anniversary gifts to our very own Adventure Book, it was a movie that marked a special moment in time for them.
When it was time to go to college Caroline chose to attend the University of South Florida in Tampa and Mike attended Palm Beach State College. Although they spent 4 years of their relationship long distance, they are both extremely independent people with similar goals in life so the long distance thing (although not without trials and tribulations) worked for them. After college Mike moved to Tampa where today they both call home and adopted a little blue pit bull puppy which they named Ellie, after a character from Up.
Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend, Sunday, June 28th, 2017 Mike and Caroline were both hanging out in the pool at Carolines parent’s house. Out of nowhere, Ellie runs through the screen door with a bouquet of colorful balloons attached to her back and a mini Adventure Book containing a ring. Once they were able to capture Ellie (she was running wild with all of the balloons on her back) Mike took the adventure book off of Ellie’s back and got down on one knee. Caroline was in complete shock. It was the most perfect, thoughtful and magical moment that She could have ever dreamed of and wouldn’t change it for the world.
From the Couple:
“So how did we end up on the top of a mountain in North Carolina for our engagement pictures? Well, I’m a wedding photographer and I take hundreds of couples engagement photos around the state of Florida. Not that Florida isn’t beautiful, but I knew I had and wanted to do something completely different. So we hopped in the car and drove ten hours from Tampa to Asheville and then two more hours north to get to Rough Ridge Lookout for our engagement shoot. On our drive into the mountains, both of our phones lost service so we had to count mile markers until we reached our destination. After a thirty-minute hike up the mountain in our dress clothes, we made it to the overlook. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening (even though it was rainy, cold and windy it added to the dark and romantic mood I was hoping to achieve), a better photographer or an ideal location for our photos. Adventure it out there, you just need to go find it.”
Photographer: Caroline Allen Photography // Second Shooter: Rebecca Stone Photography // Floral Designer: Team Flower & Philosophy Flowers //
