For both of them, it happened quickly, the knowing. “By the second date,” she said. They had talked basically non-stop since their first meeting and shared so much about themselves. “He had been so understanding about my past and we have a lot of similarities and connected so well.”

“That walk on our first date,” he said. “We talked about God and our relationship with him. We shared similar interests in many things. Pretty much every time we were together after that [solidified my feelings].”

With the wedding market being  a little crazy right now (to say the least), Morgan & Hogan got ahead of the rush by locking in their date and booking their venue early. It’s not unusual at all for people to book me for their wedding before the proposal happens and it is always a bit of extra fun to be able to anticipate the proposal with them. So I was very excited to get the news last October that the proposal had happened, exactly one year from their wedding date.

“Hogan had planned a weekend trip to Amana to get away from our stressful and busy school lives. We had planned to stay around the same time that we would be getting married the following year. After an afternoon filled with shopping, food, drinks, and lot of talks about our future, we headed back to the hotel. I had an inkling that he may have been proposing and was disappointed when 10PM hit and it hadn’t happened. I ended up telling him that I thought he was going to propose, to which he explained that he felt bad because he couldn’t afford the ring yet.

“At 11:50PM, Hogan and I went on a walk because he said he just needed to walk around for a little bit. When we got outside and walked across the sidewalk, he proposed and explained the meaning of waiting until October 15th, even if it meant proposing at midnight. I felt terrible for being so impatient, to which he says it makes a good story.”

The way they make each other smile is amazing. Hogan knows exactly what to say to make her laugh. Morgan said she most admires his caring and loyal personality. “He always puts others before himself and has a way to make people laugh in the toughest situations.” Hogan described Morgan as being loving, determined, and strong and said he admires her compassion.

I knew Hogan’s mom prior to meeting him and Morgan (his mom was the one who sent them my way for photography!) and after their engagement session, she texted me to thank me for being part of their story. This particular part of our conversation will forever be cemented as the most beautiful, welcoming sentiment of a child’s chosen partner: “We didn’t know we had a Morgan-sized hole in our family…we love her so much.” I hope every bride and groom gets to experience this kind of love when being welcomed into a new family.