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Araia and Tannr Engagement Session St Augustine Florida
Tannr and Araia are committed to being partners that will help the other achieve great feats. They are both passionate about their fields and have great expectations for the life they will lead. They could get there on our own, but will do so much faster with the support of each other.
I wanted to make sure to encompass this as much as possible in their engagement session. I think we nailed it on the head. When I met with Araia and Tannr for their engagement session I really wanted to make sure I got to know them well.
I asked Araia what made their relationship special and she said that she fell in love with his constant desire to better himself, and they both continue to foster that drive in each other. Araia and Tannr share very similar foundational values, yet their idiosyncrasies, interests, and various aspects that make up a “personality” can vary widely. These qualities are clearly seen within their engagement session.
This allows them to keep things interesting while remaining united in the grand scheme. They both regularly take time to celebrate each others’ achievements, and both of them serve as a sounding board & source of support as they plot & pursue new aspirations.
After meeting these two, I know their engagement session was going to be amazing.
HOW THEY MET
Their story began on a Hudson River pier, an hour past the set time for our meeting. Araia was late for their date. To be fair she was working on schoolwork before meeting up with him, but still, she was very late. Tannr was also late, but only by a half an hour so really he only had to wait for her as long as she would have had to wait for him…..
In Araias words, she see this crazy handsome guy standing there in a floaty vest and beat-up shoes. His glasses were hiding his eyes, and lucky for her since when she saw them later, they took her breath away. She was so nervous around him at first, she forgot how old she was when asked before boarding their boat.
They got into their kayak and talked until the rain made them paddle in and grab lunch. From there she only learned more and more about him. Every detail showing me how intelligent and unique this man was. Thankfully, he thought similarly about her and now here they are!
HOW SHE KNEW HE WAS THE ONE
“The first time I brought Tannr home to meet my family I was not nervous at all. Of course, I had warned him about my several siblings and my tough-guy dad, but the shy quiet man walked into their home and sat talking to my mom for hours. He clicked with my father, which is incredible since he likes to pretend not to speak English to the neighbors.
The moment I saw how he would fit into the folds of my family I knew he was the one. For me, such realizations happen incrementally. As our relationship grew, many things happened that signaled to me that this is a relationship I want to participate in for as long as possible.
Despite the incremental nature of “falling” for someone else, there are moments that I recall as significant, such that how I viewed our relationship before and after these moments are starkly different. One big example was how she reacted & interacted with my family.
Araia’s default is kindness, warmth, compassion, and eagerness to help. These traits were highlighted really well over the course of our extended stays with my family. Another aspect that struck me was how supportive she was of my work.
I am passionate about my career and sometimes that entails choosing work over other possible plans. When I was working in NYC and realized I’d have to be in the office far later than expected, she was not only understanding but appreciative of my willingness to push myself in my career.
Her reaction was much different from the frustration that I expected.” – Araia & Tannr
THE PROPOSAL
Araia: “So, let me first start by saying Tannr can only keep a surprise from me for about 5 minutes, and this secret he could not even keep that long. The day he bought the ring, he picked me up from work and immediately started waving around the jewelry box. He was so excited he could not contain himself. Of course, he would not show me until he spoke to my dad, so he just had a toy to taunt me with.
A few days later we went to my parent’s house as we always do on Sundays, but this time he had purchased cigars to smoke with my father as he asked. I of course knew about the cigars, and the plan in general so I got my sibling out of the house so he could have his privacy with my parents.
My father then proceeds to cook up a way to fool my mother and me. Instead of telling Tannr yes ad just smoking their cigars, he tells him to come back to my mom and me with a cooked-up story. He said my father did not give his blessing because he did not think Tannr was ready for marriage yet.
This news had my mother in tears in an instant. He comes to pick me up at the pool to tell me the same news and I know something is up. There is no way my Tannr would be so calm if my father told him he was not ready to commit to our family…so I grilled him.
I found out the truth in less than 30 minutes and called my mom to let her know the guy’s scheme. Later, she and I got the boys back, but that is a different story.
So Tannr is supposed to wait until we go on our Europe trip together, per the advice of my father, but of course that is months away and there is no way he can continue to wait. So, he begins to insist that we go to dinner. His persistence and plan for hanging out on the beach after gave him away. I played it off and helped him pack the cooler with some wine and picnic glasses for the beach.
After dinner, we head down to the beach, and under the moonlight, he proposed. No grand speech just straight and to the point. He and I both knew exactly what we wanted, and this moment was just a formal step for what had to happen between the two of us. We have not yet taken our vows, but that night on the beach we promised the rest of our lives will be together.
He is my family and I am his.”
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
St Augustine is a beautiful and bustling city. What a perfect spot for an engagement session. Full of historic heritage and lots of great restaurants and shops.
We first visited the downtown area where Araia actually grew up to encompass some of her favorite spots for this session. We visited many hidden areas in the back street of St. Augustine and had a blast as we used the unique architecture of the city.
Afterwards we moved towards the infamous Anastasia Island for the second half of this session. Anastasia Island is a barrier island located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. It sits east of St. Augustine, running north–south in a slightly southeastern direction to Matanzas Inlet.
THE ENGAGEMENT SESSION
This was a really fun and unique engagement session. Tannr being a very funny but quirky guy really knows how to make Araia laugh. You can see the true love these two have for each other throughout their engagement session photos. We all had a blast despite the heat of Florida.
It can be a challenge for an engagement session due to that heat, but these two powered through and really made some amazing engagement session art.
Tannr and Araia always had fears about being posed for their engagement session photos, but I made sure to walk them through the process of an engagement session and make them feel at ease and comfortable.
Without a doubt they rocked their engagement session! They both were very natural on the engagement session when interacting with each other and made the shoot very fun as well as aesthetically pleasing with their wardrobe choices.
These two had no problem with trying out fun and unique poses as well as popping some champagne to celebrate this new chapter in their lives.
