Stephanie and Mike are from the heartland, born and raised in the “Show Me” State: Missouri. Both grew up in small towns and big cities, both spent time on local farms and at county fairs, and both went to college across the street from each other in Springfield. Stephanie was a cheerleader at the small private school. Mike was the star pitcher at the large public one. A mutual friend introduced them during their freshman year and they started dating. They’d only been dating for a few months before fate turned their short-distance romance into a long-distance relationship, when Mike was drafted to play professional baseball. Stephanie and Mike texted, talked, Facebooked, and Skyped their way through the next few years, with Mike pursuing his dreams, visiting during his offseason and whenever else he could, while Stephanie waited for her dream to come home for good.
In December, during Mike’s offseason break from baseball, he and Stephanie went to dinner to celebrate another anniversary together. The night came and went, just like it always did, with delicious food, great conversation, memorable ambiance, and so many smiles their cheeks hurt. Once they’d paid the bill, they walked to the car hand-in-hand and drove home. When they got home and stepped inside out of the cold winter chill and into the warm house, Mike offered to help Stephanie take off her coat. She slipped one arm out of each sleeve until it was off and in his hands. He handed it back to her to hang up, and as she did, he dropped down onto one knee. She faced the closet, hung up her jacket, turned back around, and heard the man of her dreams ask her the question of a lifetime…
Stephanie and Mike, we loved every minute of our session with you. Thank you for sharing your smiles with us. Here’s a little preview of the first half of our time together. For the second half of the session, well, you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow…
We started Stephanie and Mike’s engagement session at Scottsdale Stadium, Mike’s Spring Training home for the next few months. Tomorrow, we’ll share Part 2 of their engagement session from the Desert Botanical Gardens, so stay tuned…
Gear Used for this Shoot
Canon 5D Mark III | Canon 50 1.2 | Canon 70-200 2.8 | Canon 100 2.8 | Entire Gear List
