03 Feb

Engagements

Cozy Winter Engagements | Natalie + Dan | Utah

Happy Friday everyone! I’m home from California and am trying to embrace winter, so back to the snowy posts we go! Natalie & Dan’s cozy winter engagements were just the thing to post to get me in the mood! So I included their love story, as always, however I want to first share how the couple and I met first, because it is just too crazy not to share!

Winter Engagements

I was actually shooting a proposal for The Yes Girls (which is a MUST SEE, by the way and you can check it out here). We were all done with the shoot and the couple had started back to their hotel to celebrate and I offered to stay back and help Heather clean up, as it was getting dark FAST! As we were cleaning up, four people came by the boat house and were looking at the dock and watching the sun go down and asked what we were doing. Heather, from The Yes Girls, told them we had just set up for a proposal and now we were cleaning up. They joked that it was REALLY nice of her to set up something so elaborate, and she said well “Thank you, BUT it is my job!” They then teased that they hoped that she got some good photos! Close up of engagement ring

Lucky for me, she said, “Well that’s what they hired Brooke for!” It turns out Natalie and Dan were looking at that spot to take engagement pictures with Dan’s mom while they were all in town for the holidays! They didn’t know anyone in the area so were going to take them on their own, but we exchanged information and later that night they booked their engagement session with ME instead!
It was really the coolest “meet cute” situation and all very serendipitous. I absolutely LOVED getting to know them and felt so lucky to be put in their path!

Close up of engaged coupe in a winter backdrop

Their Love Story

Natalie and Dan met in college through mutual friends while attending Washington University in St. Louis. Their first date was at the boathouse in Forest Park, right in front of campus. They sat at a table right on the water and she kept obsessing over the ducks that were swimming. Natalie says she was such a total weirdo and she has no idea why he decided to stay with her, but she is very glad he did! (Me too!!) She knew they were in love one day out of the blue. He was cooking a steak for her and she was drinking some wine, and BAM, it just hit her! So, lesson to all, steak and wine are the way to a girl’s heart sometimes!

Couple stands in front of frozen water

How He Asked

Dan had originally planned on proposing at the boathouse in Central Park to mirror their first date, but she was running late (as always) and he ran out of time! They had dinner at a tapas restaurant and he proposed just outside under a bunch of construction scaffolding! Natalie says she kind of knew it was coming, but the big surprise was after the proposal when he took her to a bar to meet their parents. It turns out, he had rented the entire basement of the bar for 30 of their closest friends and family to celebrate, including her two best friends that he had flown in!

Engaged couple stands on snow covered pier

Their Love Story

Dan and Natalie have very opposite personalities, and Dan likes to say they balance each other out. He is very Type A, and Natalie is very laid back. They feel like they have become better versions of themselves by being together! They love to cook, eat and drink together as well as taking walks and being on the water. Dan is a boat guy and Natalie is a beach girl! They are most looking forward to drinking coffee together every morning and being together even more.

Cozy winter walk through snow as engaged couple holds handsCouple looks in to each others' eyes Engaged couple looks over frozen landscapeWinter engagements taken by Utah Wedding photographer Brook Bakken Engaged Couple hold each others armsEngaged couple Natalie and Dan smile and embrace Snow covered landscape creates cozy winter engagements
Winter Engagements taken by Utah Photgrapher Brooke Bakken Couple walks through a winter wonderland Sun peeks through trees in the distance Bride to be smiles with focus on her ring Cozy winter engagements taken by Utah wedding photographer Brooke Bakken

I love these two and am SO glad we met when we did…otherwise I may have never gotten to know these incredible people and shoot their gorgeous cozy winter engagements, and believe me, that would be a crying shame.

XOXO