Lyndsey & Derek
How They Met
Derek and I met in high school through mutual friends and the love of sports. I was a high school cheerleader, and Derek played in multiple sports at Woodcreek High School, in Roseville, CA. We immediately hit it off and quickly became known as “best friends”. It was the kind of friendship that everyone says will eventually turn into love. We were inseparable, unconditionally there for one another, and could always count on the other to be 100% honest and real. Up until college we were both blinded by that idea. Derek went away to the University of Arizona and I moved off to San Diego for college, and like the old saying goes, “distance makes the heart grow fonder”. Derek and I did a long distance relationship for almost 2 years, and later reunited back in our home town of Roseville where the rest is now history!
The Proposal
Lyndsey and I both share a love for the outdoors and being active, and I wanted to stay as far away as possible from the cliché “holiday” or “public” proposal. Lyndsey requested a long time ago that whenever it did happen, she wanted it to be personal, alone, and something that was out of the ordinary.
I chose to propose to Lyndsey on a random Tuesday afternoon when I planned an afternoon hike to Hidden Falls, in Auburn, CA, one of our favorite hiking spots! The plan was to propose by “the fall”, a gorgeous water fall at the top of the hike. But of course with my luck, the falls happened to be full of families with their dogs, making it hard to find a quiet “alone” spot. Onto plan B! I decided to take her on a different trail, walked her through bushes and trees, and right as she began to wonder where the heck I was taking her, I dropped to one knee in the front of a little pond, and popped the question! Don’t ask me what I said, and don’t ask her either because to this day I think we both blacked out from excitement, nerves, and exhaustion from the trek I took us on! Regardless, she said yes! And now the tough part… we laugh about it to this day, but this specific hike happens to be completely downhill on the way to the falls, and completely UP hill on the way back to the car. Not thinking about the walk back, try walking UPHILL, with pure adrenaline from just asking the biggest question of your life, your heart is pounding, you cant catch your breath, and now, you get to walk miles…. HAHA! We were barely standing when we made it back to the car, from both pure excitement and pure exhaustion. Regardless…It was the best day of our lives !
The Engagement Session
Derek and I chose Tanya to be our photographer from the beginning because we wanted to stay as far away as possible from the “traditional” engagement and wedding photos. We loved the candidness of her style and the fact that the people she captured looked real. With that said, we wanted to pick a setting for our engagement photos that was real to us, and really portrayed who we were as a couple. Due to the fact that we met in High School, and Derek is now a High School teacher, there was no better place to tell our story than at a high school !
The Engagement Ring
Derek and I tried on rings together so he pretty much hit the nail on the head. I had spent a decent amount of time looking at rings online and always thought I wanted a solitaire with princess cut, but when I went in to try rings on, I didn’t like how the solitaire diamond sat so high off the setting. I was drawn more towards a lower setting and a more vintage appeal. Again, I found myself not wanting such a “traditional” ring.
The Photographer
Tanya Therien from Memories by Tanya Photography
” Engagement Sessions are my absolute favorite thing to photograph. It gives me the opportunity to really connect and get to know my couples on a personal level in a fun and relaxed environment. Each of my couples are allowing me to peek into intimate parts of their relationship. They are baring their hearts to me and trusting me to tell their personal love story from my perspective. “
