D.C. Engagement Session: Sofia + Preston

Sofia and Preston are the cutest couple with the sweetest photos taken by one of our favorite photographers, Abby Jiu.  Their first encounter was when they were only eleven…they shared the same 6th grade homeroom class.  Sofia was the quiet, shy girl and Preston quite the opposite.  Nevertheless, they developed a strong friendship that slowly dwindled away when they left for different high schools.  But in 2004, they ended up attending the same university and the relationship blossomed.  Now they’re planning the most important day of their lives together, and we can’t wait to see how that turns out!

Sofia describes the proposal…

“Looking back on this day and seeing how everything unfolded, you would think that I would’ve known what was going on, but I didn’t. It all happened on what I thought was just an ordinary Thursday. Preston and I were supposed to meet up and drive to Tyson’s Corner. He came to my house and picked me up. Before we started making our way out of the neighborhood, he told me that he had to pick his nephew up from football camp. I didn’t question it until he started driving in the opposite direction of his nephew’s school. I asked him where his nephew was, and he told me he was at Beville (the school where we met), coaching the younger students on the football team. Still oblivious to what was going on, I went with it. I figured his nephew was just helping out.

We arrived at the school and he went inside to get him while I waited in the car. A few minutes later he walked back out and told me to come inside and that his nephew was going to be a while. Little did I know, he was inside preparing everyone for what was going to happen.

We got our visitor’s badges and started walking. He never mentioned where we were supposed to go and I was too fascinated with our surroundings to ask, so I just assumed it was to the football field.

As we walked down the hallway, I was in awe of all of the memories we were walking into. I kept seeing things that I remembered when we were students and just kept pointing them out to him. He played it off like he didn’t remember anything, but I just kept going on and on. There were so many things to point out.

We walked into the 6th grade hallway and I asked him, ‘How can you not remember this?’ And he just smiled and shrugged. Remembering our initial reason for being at the school, I asked him, ‘So, where are we supposed to meet your nephew exactly?’ He replied and said, ‘The lady in the office told me to go to room 33. Immediately, I said, ‘Hey! Isn’t that our old classroom?’ And he played it off again saying, ‘It is? I don’t remember.’ Growing frustrated with his sudden lack of memory loss, I ignored him and we continued down the hallway until we were in front of the room. All of a sudden he remembers and says, ‘You’re right. This is our old classroom. Good memory.’

We walked into the classroom and started looking around, pointing out where we each sat in class. We even joked about sharing pop-tarts. Soon after, the topic of the conversation changed. I don’t really remember the specifics of it, but at one point he tried to hug me and I playfully pushed him away. He then grabbed my arm and said, ‘Wait. I’m lying to you. I didn’t bring you here to wait for my nephew.’ Confused and still naive to what was happening; he suddenly got down on one knee and pulled out a box. Before I knew it, he was asking me to marry him. After all the crying and about thirty ‘Oh my goshes,’ I smiled and immediately said ‘YES!’”

The concept…

“The theme for our engagement session originated from the overall theme of our wedding, which is modern Miami. Our amazing photographer, Abby Jiu, came up with the idea to have our shoot take place on the rooftop of the Donovan House and we couldn’t have been more excited about it. I love pools, so to have that and be able to incorporate the gorgeous view of the city made it ten times better!

Abby provided me with ideas of what to wear, and I elaborated on those ideas with the help of my sister and her best friend. I ended up having so many outfit options; I didn’t know which ones to choose from. Abby came in and saved the day! Not only did she take amazing pictures, but she provided some great styling advice too.” – Sophia

{Love Birds}

What she loves about him…“I love his personality! He has the ability to make everyone he comes in contact with, fall in love with him. He’s charming, outgoing and possesses a great sense of humor. I love being able to laugh with him. When it comes to our sense of humor, we’re two of a kind. If I tell a joke and nobody else thinks it’s funny, I can always count on him to laugh as hard as I do. I’ve never met anyone that was able to make me laugh as much as he does. I love that.”

What he loves about her…“One thing I love about Sofia is how she has the ability to always make me feel like we’re kids again. Whenever life is getting the best of me, I can always count on her to take me away from it all. She has a way of creating such a warm environment with her amazing personality and sense of humor!”

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VENDORS

Photography: Abby Jiu Photography
Wedding Planner: Table 6 Productions

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