Philadelphia Museum of Art Engagement Session
You won't be able to stop smiling after reading the adorable story of how these two lovebirds met! What started as a chance encounter bloomed into romance with a proposal on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum Of Art. The super talented KT Merry captured all the special moments of this engagement session around the city -- and we can't think of a better way to celebrate National Proposal Day than taking a whirl right here in the gallery.
From The Groom-to-be... Paula and I have a very unique story of how we met. I was being set up on a blind date by one of my good friends, Theresa. I met the girl in a group setting… it didn’t work out. So I thought I was going to spend the rest of the night just hanging out and having a few drinks with friends -- then, in walks Paula with a couple of her friends. She looked absolutely stunning! She was there for maybe five minutes just to say hi to someone and walked right back out. I thought to myself, I would have loved to have been set up with her!!! But she was in and out in that five minutes so I thought I lost my chance forever. After that, I met up with some more friends and we proceeded to bar hop. At our third stop, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her standing there at the bar with her friends. I grabbed Theresa and said, “There's that girl again! Since your first attempt at setting me up failed you have to introduce me to her!” Theresa went over to Paula and introduced herself, chatted with her for a little bit, and called me over. “Paula, this is Mike. Mike, this is Paula. Goodbye!” said Theresa and she walked away leaving the two of us alone. Needless to say, we hit it off and ever since that moment I’ve been hooked! We had our first official date a week later at Paula's restaurant of choice, a burger and beer place… my type of place. We had a great night getting to know each other and the rest is history.
From The Bride-to-be... At the time, I was a volunteer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art… one of my absolute favorite places to be. Michael was going to meet me at the museum at the end of the day so we could have dinner together in the city, which is something we often do. As I was finishing up for the day, Michael and his brother Sean called me and told me to meet them at the front of the museum by the main stairs, the famous museum stairs that were featured in the Rocky movie, because apparently Sean wanted to run up and down them just like Rocky had done. At first I refused but after some persuasion I reluctantly agreed to meet them there. As I walked around to the bottom of the stairs, I looked up to search for them and saw Michael standing way up in the middle of the stairway, a smile on his handsome face, all dressed up in a suit, holding a bouquet of red roses. I yelled, “What’s happening?!” He crooked his finger as if to say “come here.” I slowly made my way up the stairs all the while trying to process what was happening. As I approached Michael, he got down on one knee and took my hand. I will never forget his sweet words to me. He pulled out a beautiful custom-made ring... he had met with our jeweler to design it himself! At this point, a crowd of people had gathered and were watching the entire thing. To this day I still don’t know if I ever even said yes but I just threw my arms around him and held on. The crowd cheered. One lady cried! Some of the bystanders ran to congratulate and take photos with us. Sean had been filming us the entire time. As we made our way down the stairs to leave the museum, people from all around were shouting their well wishes and some were giving Michael a thumbs up, waving, and grinning at us from their cars. Michael then took me out to a romantic dinner at one of our favorite restaurants where I was able to catch my breath and absorb all that had just happened. Afterwards, we went to the bar where he first caught sight of me to celebrate with some of our friends. It was the. best. day. ever. Isn’t he dreamy?
We took our engagement photos on the one year anniversary of our engagement. We walked around in the city of Philadelphia where we met and fell in love and ended the photo shoot right back where he proposed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Our little Pomeranian, Baby, joined us for the day. As you can see, she isn't the most cooperative little thing (haha!) but she sure is cute and we love her dearly.
KT and Chad of KT Merry Photography were such a pleasure to work with. Michael and I felt like we were on a double date with friends rather than a professional photo shoot, which made for a relaxed and happy atmosphere. I discovered KT Merry during a Style Me Pretty binge and I knew instantly I needed to have her as my photographer. I just love the ethereal quality of KT's work; she perfectly captures what daydreams are made of. I cannot wait for her to shoot our wedding this coming May. Most of all, I cannot wait to marry my best friend... I love you Michael Mullane!
From The Bride-to-be... At the time, I was a volunteer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art… one of my absolute favorite places to be. Michael was going to meet me at the museum at the end of the day so we could have dinner together in the city, which is something we often do. As I was finishing up for the day, Michael and his brother Sean called me and told me to meet them at the front of the museum by the main stairs, the famous museum stairs that were featured in the Rocky movie, because apparently Sean wanted to run up and down them just like Rocky had done. At first I refused but after some persuasion I reluctantly agreed to meet them there. As I walked around to the bottom of the stairs, I looked up to search for them and saw Michael standing way up in the middle of the stairway, a smile on his handsome face, all dressed up in a suit, holding a bouquet of red roses. I yelled, “What’s happening?!” He crooked his finger as if to say “come here.” I slowly made my way up the stairs all the while trying to process what was happening. As I approached Michael, he got down on one knee and took my hand. I will never forget his sweet words to me. He pulled out a beautiful custom-made ring... he had met with our jeweler to design it himself! At this point, a crowd of people had gathered and were watching the entire thing. To this day I still don’t know if I ever even said yes but I just threw my arms around him and held on. The crowd cheered. One lady cried! Some of the bystanders ran to congratulate and take photos with us. Sean had been filming us the entire time. As we made our way down the stairs to leave the museum, people from all around were shouting their well wishes and some were giving Michael a thumbs up, waving, and grinning at us from their cars. Michael then took me out to a romantic dinner at one of our favorite restaurants where I was able to catch my breath and absorb all that had just happened. Afterwards, we went to the bar where he first caught sight of me to celebrate with some of our friends. It was the. best. day. ever. Isn’t he dreamy?
We took our engagement photos on the one year anniversary of our engagement. We walked around in the city of Philadelphia where we met and fell in love and ended the photo shoot right back where he proposed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Our little Pomeranian, Baby, joined us for the day. As you can see, she isn't the most cooperative little thing (haha!) but she sure is cute and we love her dearly.
KT and Chad of KT Merry Photography were such a pleasure to work with. Michael and I felt like we were on a double date with friends rather than a professional photo shoot, which made for a relaxed and happy atmosphere. I discovered KT Merry during a Style Me Pretty binge and I knew instantly I needed to have her as my photographer. I just love the ethereal quality of KT's work; she perfectly captures what daydreams are made of. I cannot wait for her to shoot our wedding this coming May. Most of all, I cannot wait to marry my best friend... I love you Michael Mullane!