I’m super excited to share Katie and Alden’s Vermont Fall Engagement Session! But first… I definitely want to brag all about this fun couple!
I met Katie while I was shooting a Wedding at Sugarbush! She was one of the wedding coordinators that I had the pleasure of working with! I immediately fell in love. Not only with the venue… but with the staff! And Katie was one of them!
Katie is fun, easy to talk too and incredible to work with. And her working in the wedding industry, where she has access to literally hundreds of wedding photographers… they chose little ole’ me to photograph their wedding! And I am honored!
Let’s talk now, about this incredibly kickass couple!
Where and when did you first meet?
In 2013 I transferred to Endicott College my second semester Sophomore year to play lacrosse with my sister and enjoy time on the North Shore of Boston, not expecting to meet the love of my life almost 1 week later. I went to meet my roommate, at the time, to help me switch my classes online and she was with her Education classmate. I was so flustered at the time trying to get out of this god-awful philosophy class that I didn’t think anything of it at the time but I did think he was super cute. We officially met on a Wednesday in the Cyber Cafe at the Library (like a true Taylor Swift Song).
The following weeks we would “Tweet” and “Facebook Message” each other back and forth a few times and I was really excited to hang out with him or hope I would see him that weekend. Go figure, that following weekend, Winter Storm Nemo was coming so Alden had to go home to Vermont to ski. As disappointed I was that I wouldn’t get to hang out with him, I was excited to learn that he was a skier just like me and that was good enough for me. I stayed on campus with my sister and my friend finally got his number and even though he didn’t have much service at home in VT, we set a point to see each other once he got home to watch the Walking Dead. Very romantic!
Tell us about your Fist Date!!
We had officially already hung out in each other’s dorm rooms but we always consider this our first real date. Alden picked me up in his vintage Red Jeep Cherokee “Clifford” at my dorm room, Stoneridge, for a surprise date. He didn’t tell me where we were going or what we were doing. So naturally, I had no idea what to wear. It was a beautiful early March spring day. I went with a safe cute tank top and jeans. It was so nice to get off campus, roll down the windows and listen to country music while driving along the ocean. We pulled up to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester and it was the most perfect day, I just wish he told me to bring my bathing suit! We talked about our families, our hobbies, and pretty much everything you could think of. It was the best day. It is so crazy to think back on that day now and remember that we weren’t even officially dating yet!
At the end of March, Alden agreed to go skiing at Mount Snow with my family for Easter. He was such a trooper. He definitely impressed my dad on the slopes and ended up joining us for our Easter party with my extended family, after my mom insisted. I was so anxious and terrified that not only was he going to meet not only my parents for the first time but the entire family. He is such a laid-back, great guy, I knew he would be fine. Since we weren’t dating yet, we told everyone we were JUST friends but no one believed us. I don’t even think we believed us.
A few weeks later on April 15th, 2013 he was coming back from a boy’s weekend in NH. Alden came to say hi to me in my dorm room. He knocked on my door and I heard the crinkling of paper, I looked out the peephole and saw him standing there with flowers..my heart sank. So naturally, I made him sweat a little bit (and to cool myself off) until I opened the door to embrace him. We sat on my bed and he asked me “I think we should date” so I said “Oh you think so..” Needless to say the inevitable happened and he was officially mine! That is a day we will never forget, in more ways than one. April 15th, 2013 was the day of the Boston Bombings, and coincidentally enough we were together when it happened and we will always be thankful for that.
When did you know that they were… “The One”?
Alden and I told each other we loved one another while watching a movie in our dorm room a few weeks before we had to leave each other for the summer. It was one of those moments where I had a feeling he was going to tell me, so I let him tell me, and then I said it right back.
We fell in love quickly. But I knew Alden was the one when he would be the only person in my life that I would drive 2.5 hours to see for less than 24 hours once a week, IF THAT.
Every summer, Alden worked as a counselor at a boys camp on Lake Winnipesaukee but he was off every Wednesday. I was living with my sister in Boston and there would be some weeks when I didn’t know when I would see him next. We could barely talk throughout the day but we looked forward to Wednesdays no matter what. It quickly became our favorite day.
We often would go to his family’s New Hampshire house called “Windy Top” and have an entire night and full day together before they had to go back to camp. Those were some of the best days and we just always held onto the fact that we loved each other and even if we weren’t together, everything was going to be okay! a True- absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Tell us about the Proposal!
On our day off, Wednesday, we had a very relaxing day together. We went to Skinny Pancake for brunch, our favorite meal, and took a nap on the couch with Bridger. I had a Sugarbush employee party that night that we were planning to go to. I have been wanting Alden to meet my coworkers in person. It was a beautiful evening, we ate pizza and enjoyed 2 free drink tickets each. I noticed Alden was drinking faster than usual but didn’t think anything of it–the man loves his beer.
After the party, we had a plan to bring Bridger swimming since he needed to do something active and we wanted to reward him for being a good boy at the party. We spotted at The big Jumping Rock on the Mad River, Kenneth Ward Park. We have gone to this spot a handful of times in our years together, bringing friends and their dogs for a swim adventure.
It is a beautiful little beach area right off route 100. It can sometimes be super packed with people but we pulled in and there was NO ONE (besides two guys smoking in the back corner hahaha).
I gave Alden a hug when we got down there because it was just such a beautiful night and I said “Alden your heart is beating really fast, are you okay?” He brushed it off and I didn’t think anything of it.
After I threw the water toy for Bridger a few times, I turned around, and there Alden was on one knee. He simply asked me to marry him and I said yes! Well, I was freaking out “What, right now?? what are you doing? right now?? Babe what!” I remember saying something like “With a ring like that, of course, I will marry you!” I was kidding, of course, I would marry him with a ring pop but WOW he did such an amazing job. Gold band with an oval diamond and two teardrop flanking stones. Everything I would have dreamed of, and he had it custom-made all on his own.
The sun was just starting to set and it was absolutely perfect. He was so sneaky and packed a cooler and champagne glasses with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot that we have been saving. It was everything I’ve ever envisioned.
What do you guys do for fun?
We love to do anything and everything that can involve our dog, Bridger. Whether that is going on hikes, camping, brewery hopping, and exploring in the trails and water. We love all the seasons but our favorites are adventuring in the snow together, whether it is skiing, snowshoeing, or cross country skiing. Alden and I are very outdoorsy and love playing outside. We love to cook together, well Alden does all the cooking and I do all the cleaning! We love football season!! GO PATS! We both also love spending time with our families, our siblings are some of our best friends and it is so fun to all be together. We love listening to live music and enjoying our company.
Honestly, as active as we are, we are true homebodies. We just settled in and bought of first home together and boy do we just love being here together whether watching the Office and binging other shoes together We share so many of the same hobbies so it is so fun being able to have a build-in bestie to do everything with.
What advice would you give to other couples planning a wedding?
Enjoy the small things, soak it all in. Everything will come together but just try not to fret about the small things.
And lastly, what are you looking forward to most on your wedding day?
JUST GETTING MARRIED!!!! finally!
Well honestly, what I am most looking forward to about our wedding day is our first look. I can’t wait to just see him and hug him and kiss him on our freaking wedding day. A day we have been talking about for so many years! I can’t wait for it to just be me and him. He and I are together on our big day and share a special moment just between us!
Vermont Fall Engagement Session
So, I think it’s fair to say that Katie and Alden’s Vermont Fall Engagement Session really was perfect! In so many ways! Next time, I’ll be sharing their Vermont Fall Wedding! Till then…. keep on keepin’ on! LOL
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