Whimsical Up Themed Engagement Session

What happens when you have two creatives in love — ADVENTURE of course! Mike, an esteemed local artist, and Morriah, a Performing Arts teacher and content creator met at an art show and have been inseparable ever since. Traveling the world together from Canada to Paris, they are ready for their latest adventure–marriage! This engagement session features a beautifully restored Victorian home in the Cape May era, resembling the iconic home from “Up,” the pixar film. 

They say love is up in the air, and for this adorable couple, that’s certainly true! From the vibrant balloons to the playful props, everything about this shoot is whimsical and fun. The best part is that the love between these two is clearly genuine. They can’t help but smile and laugh whenever they’re together, and it’s evident that they’re just perfect for each other. If their engagement session is any indication of what’s to come, we know their wedding will be an absolutely magical event.

We met at an art show in Philly where Michael was showcasing his work. When walking past his both Michael stopped me and asked if we’d known one another. I told him I didn’t recall meeting before and then proceeded to ask him out for coffee. Later in our relationship we discovered we had crossed paths before that art show, only it was at a completely different art show where I actually took pictures of his work, and posted them on my social media page. We discovered this after scrolling through my Instagram going down memory lane. We never did go and grab coffee. Instead, for our first date we played a bunch of games at Funplex in NJ, and then went to one of our favorite soul food restaurants, Relish. For our second date we took a weekend road trip to Canada, and experienced the magnificent wonders of Niagara Falls. We continued to travel through the rest of summer and into fall.

Proposing to Morriah was the one of best experiences. I wanted the proposal to be intimate and personal to our relationship, so everything was planned with us in mind. First, I started with selecting a date to propose on. Morriah’s initials are MAY, so I decided to propose on the last day of May because I wanted it to symbolize the last day I can call her Morriah Aleese Young (MAY). Then, I chose the Philadelphia Art Museum as the location because we’re both artists and the scenery is everything. All the planning went smoothly, but the most important thing was making sure Morriah showed up without her spidey-senses going off. So, I came up with a plan, and I gathered a team of family members and friends to help make it happen. I had Morriah’s best friend invite her out to an “event” at the Art Museum, and she agreed. When Morriah showed up, she arrived to 10 of my friends on the steps standing parallel to each other, creating an aisle. She was guided to walk through as each friend handed her a rose. Music began to play, and she began to cry because she just knew what was happening. She then came to a hanging white veil. The veil was pulled down, and I bet she thought I was going to behind the curtain on one knee. I was actually hiding in the bushes. Behind the veil was her family. She hasn’t seen her Father, brother, and sisters together in a long time because all of her family members do not live in Philadelphia, so it meant everything to see everyone together. Her father talked to her and gave his blessing for our future. He then told her to turn around, and there I was, kneeling on one knee. I asked her to marry me, and she accepted. I was crying like a baby! We were both crying. It was a powerful moment. After that, we took a ride to a restaurant where all her friends were there waiting. She was so surprised. The whole experience took a lot of planning, but I knew it would be worth it. She’s worth it.

The ring is a custom twisted infinity love knot with round cut diamonds on the shoulder. The band is silver, and the center is an elevated swirl with a colorful mystic topaz stone.

For our engagement shoot we took inspiration from on of the most iconic romantic Disney animations, UP! We wanted our shoot to be both colorful and playful so we used an array of colorful balloons and an engagement sign that read our “Adventure Begins 7.7.23.” We made sure the font was the same font used in the movie.

For our outfits we wanted to match the essence of the movie rather than the main characters exact outfits. We wanted our shoot to feel youthful and lively, so Michael’s outfit was closer to the young boy scout, Russell’s outfit. Michael wore a bright yellow button down shirt with khakis and dress boots. I wore a white dress that had a colorful balloon print, with a white tutu, and white chucks with a rainbow design. We also added a grape soda bottle cap brooch to Michael’s shirt, and had tons of props to create the scene, such as a picnic blanket and basket, and a beautiful yellow house in the background to finish the look.

We have started planning our wedding and our tentative date is July 7, 2023.