Chanel and Patrick’s ‘Vibes Only’ engagement session at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts blended romantic sophistication with the couple’s laid-back charm!
Chanel and Patrick first became acquainted during college, but timing was not on their side yet. As fate would have it, they met later on at one of Patrick’s events. Patrick thought Chanel was dating one of the guys in the group she was with, so he didn’t engage in conversation with Chanel out of respect. Chanel wondered why he gave her the cold shoulder and directly approached him and asked. He told her the reason for his behavior and after smoothing things over they talked and danced for the rest of the night!
Patrick planned the proposal for three months!
With help from family and friends, he carefully orchestrated every piece of the plan to ensure the big moment would be flawless. To bring Chanel to Virginia Beach without speculation, he told her they were visiting his father to celebrate Christmas. She thought it was a great idea and had no suspicions.
On their way to Patrick’s Father’s house, Patrick’s Father played his part and called, telling them he was unwell and wanted to reschedule to have breakfast with them the following day. Chanel suggested returning home but Patrick said they couldn’t as he had already booked the hotel and made a dinner reservation. After cleaning up at the hotel, they walked a few minutes to Chanel’s favorite restaurant, where Patrick previously asked her to be his girlfriend. They ordered drinks and Patrick made a special toast, smoothly leading into the proposal.
He started to say all of these lovely things about how he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. The next thing I knew, he was on one knee asking me to marry him! After the proposal, we headed back to the hotel room and it was decorated with balloons, rose petals, and candles. It was perfect.
– Chanel
For their ‘Vibes Only’ engagement session, Chanel and Patrick wanted their photos to reflect their genuine nature as a couple.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts gave them the perfect atmosphere to incorporate three looks into their e-session; a sophisticated romantic look for inside the museum, a clean causal look for outdoors, and another casual look to pay homage to their Greek affiliations. Each look and location brought out their love and connection along with their laid-back charm.
Chanel and Patrick can’t wait to dance the night away with their loved ones at their waterfront wedding in Key Largo, Florida!
Learn more about their love story and see details from their ‘Vibes Only’ engagement session below!
- Couple: Chanel & Patrick
- Occupations: Property Manager | Account Manager
- Wedding date: December 28, 2024
- Wedding location: The Key Largo Lighthouse in Key Largo, Florida
- Location of Engagement shoot: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia
How did you meet?
We met in college, but the timing was never really right. In 2017, I saw him at one of his events in Norfolk, Virginia. He spoke to some of the friends that I was with, but then he ignored me and didn’t speak! So I approached him inside the event and asked what was up with the silent treatment. He said that he thought that I was dating one of the guy friends that I was with and said he didn’t want to be disrespectful. We chatted a bit and then the next thing we knew, we were dancing the rest of the night.
Tell us your proposal story.
Patrick: The proposal was three months in the making.
I wanted it to be special so I reached out to the restaurant where I initially asked her to be my girlfriend (Chops VB). I had a personal relationship with the GM, Gaston, so he ensured the night would be perfect.
The next step was bringing Chanel down to VA Beach from Richmond without suspicion, so I had to tap in my father to bring it all home. I called him and told her that we would be “going to dinner together to celebrate the holiday (Christmas) but in reality, he would cancel last minute, isolating us for an intimate experience. Safe to say my father played his part.
I had my friend, Rich, a photographer of Very Rich Studios set up shop at the restaurant to capture the moment. While we were at the restaurant, I had my frat brother, Antionio, of Touched by Tonio events decorate the room with roses, candles, and other items to ensure the night was even more beautiful. Safe to say she was surprised and the proposal was a success.
Chanel: It was about a week or so before we were leaving to head to Indiana to visit Patrick’s mom and family for Christmas.
His father lived in Virginia and Patrick mentioned how he wanted to go to dinner with his father before leaving so we could see him during the holiday season, which I thought was a great idea! Patrick suggested going to dinner in Virginia Beach on the upcoming Saturday and suggested we make a weekend out of it and stay for the night. I packed my bag and didn’t think much of it.
As we were on the way down to Virginia Beach, Patrick was acting semi-strange about getting to the restaurant on time for our reservation. Internally I was thinking, why doesn’t he call and change the reservation, but I let it go. We were about an hour into our drive down and Patrick asked me to call his dad to let him know what time we would arrive.
When we called, his dad said that he had a headache and asked if we could get together for breakfast tomorrow instead and we agreed. So I asked Patrick, “Well the whole reason we were going down today was to get dinner with your dad so do you want to head back home to Richmond?” Patrick said no because he already booked the hotel room and it was non-refundable. So, I just went with the flow.
We got to the hotel to drop our bags off and we quickly changed clothes.
We went downstairs and I asked if we should call a rideshare and he said no, we were going to walk because we were going to Chops a block away. I loved Chops because it’s the restaurant where Patrick asked me to be his girlfriend in 2018. We get to the restaurant and order drinks.
Patrick suggested that we do a toast, which is typical every time we grab drinks. He started to say all of these lovely things about how he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. The next thing I knew, he was on one knee asking me to marry him! After the proposal, we headed back to the hotel room and it was decorated with balloons, rose petals, and candles. It was perfect.
When did you know they were “the one”?
Patrick: I knew she was the one when she bonded with my family as if she was already a part of my family.
We visited my mother in Indiana to surprise her for her birthday and also visited a majority of the family while there. We visited some wineries, bounced from house to house and she fitted right in. Things like that go a long way toward seeing what life looks like with a person and was the icing on the cake for me.
Chanel: I knew Patrick was the one for me when I went through a really tough time in my career.
On top of admiring his characteristics of being ambitious, a risk taker, and a comedian, the way he supported and encouraged me sealed the deal.
What did you do on your first date?
We had been conversing for a few months through phone and text and at the time, I was working at a university in Norfolk, Virginia. The university was hosting a spring concert featuring the artist Wale and I had two tickets. At the last minute, I asked him if he wanted to come! We grabbed some food on campus before we went and had a blast.
Describe your engagement session.
We really wanted our photos to reflect our genuine nature. We consider ourselves a very laid-back couple and have a genuine love and friendship for each other. No theme, just vibes.
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love to try new restaurants for their dishes, drinks, and music. Richmond, Virginia is known for their local eateries and we love trying all the new places! Marylous in the Fan of Richmond is our new favorite. We also love to travel to new places and try new things. Last year for my birthday, we booked a last-minute trip to Key West. I’m not sure how he did it, but he surprised me by going skydiving! It was on my bucket list so I’m glad we were able to experience it together. We try to get about three vacations in a year so we are really looking forward to our honeymoon to see what new adventure we will do together.
How has wedding planning been so far?
In the beginning, wedding planning was stressful, but that was to be expected. Now that we have a clear vision of what we would like to have during our wedding celebration, it has been fairly smooth. We are counting down the days until the big day!
What are you looking forward to most on your wedding day?
Patrick: The reception, being an event planner, I have taken pride in throwing events up and down the East Coast for eighteen years. It’s going to be lit!
Chanel: I’m looking forward to having all of our friends and family in one place for our weekend wedding celebration. Someone is going to have to tear me off the beach dance floor!
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Vendors
- Makeup Artist: The Bakery Makeup
- Photographer: Kimie James Photography
- Tailor: Sturdy Well
I love…love. What a beautiful love story. May this story never end! I thank God that you two found each other to share life with. I’m excited for your future. Thank you for sharing.
We LOVE love too! Thanks for reading :)