Emily + Ryan’s Franklin Indiana Spring Coffee shop engagement session
It was SO nice to be back at it! I met up with Emily and Ryan this past week at Main and Madison in Franklin, Indiana. The coffee shop use to be a hospital in the early 1900s and was lovingly restore– all facts shared to me by Emily. She also brought along some adorable props including a wooden connect four game the couple plays together. Make sure to look closely at Emily’s amazing, one of a kind engagement band. It is made up of several family heirloom diamonds in an incredibly intricate design. We strolled over to Franklin College after Main and Madison to capture images of the two on the campus where Ryan works. It was seriously so lovely to get to know the two better and be outside in that spring sunshine.
The pair will be wed this October at Black Iris and I look forward to capturing their love and celebrations!
Bride + Groom Q+A
How did you two meet?
We matched on 2 different dating sites and after he sent the first message, we figured out that he knew my cousin while working at Franklin College. After we had been dating a couple of weeks, I asked my cousin for his opinion on Ryan and his response was “I love him, he’s awesome. He’s a great dude. You should keep dating him. He’s like one of my favorite people” – So how could I not keep dating him at that point 🙂
First date?
Our first date was at Bakersfield on Mass Ave for tacos and margaritas on Monday, October 22nd. I was so nervous, that I forgot to pay my parking meter before walking to the restaurant. We were waiting outside for a table to be ready and I noticed a meter maid going around to check the meters and it hit me that I was going to get a ticket if I didn’t go back to my car. I was going to ask if he wanted to walk with me since they said it would be 15-20 minutes before our table was ready, but right then, the host came out and told us we could be seated. So I said I would run to my car and pay the meter and be right back. The whole time I was rushing to my car, I was thinking ” this is a really bad first impression, he probably thinks I’m incredibly forgetful”- Well, when I got back to the table, I sat down and apologized and his response was ” well I am just glad you came back”. My mouth was probably on the floor from shock! I never even considered ditching him so I felt awful that the thought crossed his mind. Luckily the date went well and he asked me out on a second date before we said “goodbye”.
How did he propose?
He proposed at 10pm on a Friday evening in January, after our Moms arrived to spend the weekend with us. We were just at home, in pjs and I was making our moms a chicken quesadilla haha. He called me into the living room and proposed in front of our moms and it was so “Ryan”. He’s very lowkey and doesn’t like to make a spectacle and that’s what I love about him. I am so glad our moms were able to be there because any other time that he would have proposed- only one side of the family could be involved and this way- we were able to share it with both families.
Tell me about that ring !!!
When his parents came to see our house for the first time in August they gave him two rings. First was his mom’s anniversary ring , from his dad, with the marquis diamonds, the second was his dad’s wedding band with a diamond chip that was actually Ryan’s maternal Grandmother’s diamond that she gave to his parents to put in his dad’s wedding band when they were engaged. So he came home from work a couple weeks later and showed me the rings. He said he was debating on if he should show me or not (because he knew I didn’t want to pick my ring out), but he had no idea where to start designing a custom ring so he asked if I would come with him to a jeweler and help design what I wanted. After telling my parents about his parent’s diamonds, my mom offered to give me one of her diamonds, from a necklace that she never wore, for the center diamond. The ring took from October- January 22nd, with multiple design revisions and when I saw it for the first time in person, I couldn’t believe that all those diamonds, from our parents, with all their meanings, were on my hand from my future husband. I’ve never been happier or felt so loved. I also can’t believe that I designed my own ring from looking online for inspiration and picking out details I liked and just throwing them together.
Wedding plans?
We really want our wedding to reflect who we are as a couple and our individual personalities. We are taking traditional wedding details and putting a twist on them. We want to give more attention to our ceremony and less attention to the reception. Getting to say our vows in front of all of our loved ones is most important to us and we couldn’t be more excited. Black Iris Estate is a gorgeous venue and we hope to be married in their Willow Chapel with our Cocktail Reception to follow in the Ballroom. Our Dinner Reception will be just 26 people ( newlyweds, parents, siblings with their significant others, nieces, nephews and grandparents), this is probably what I (Emily) am looking forward to the most. A cozy, intimate family dinner with the people who shaped us into who we are and will be with us as we continue to build our lives together and have a family. We will follow up our Thursday wedding with a weekend of festivities with any guests who are around and want to spend the weekend celebrating with us.