Bee Dee Blue Photography captured a couples blossoming love for one another during their casual engagement session in Old City District. This neighborhood was the perfect backdrop for Aimee and Michael’s portraits, as it exemplifies many memories of their relationship. The lovely couple, and Murray (the dog) paraded the town with their amazing photographers Danielle and Brynn, and the results are absolutely endearing! Read more about Aimee and Michael’s love story, in addition to the storytelling photographs of their lovely engagement session below.
From the Photographers, Bee Dee Blue Photography: “Aimee and Mike were a blast during their engagement session. Understanding their love for each other was instantly easy. So many of their photos capture them laughing. Aimee is definitely the jokester of the two, and it’s obvious that Mike is her biggest fan. Murray has been her dog for years, and the way Mike interacted with him was adorable. We got a shot of the two of them in front of the restaurant where they met, and on the front step of the apartment Aimee lived in then. We’re so excited for their wedding! We know they’ll be up for some fun shots and knowing Aimee’s outgoing, free spirit personality, we may be able to pull something especially original off.”
How They Met:
Michael: “We were introduced to each other by Carol Mandell, who is the mom of Aimee’s friend Rachel and also a second or third cousin of my dad. On the day of the baby shower for my sister Pam, I was visiting my parents’ house so that I could wash and wax my car. After the baby shower, my mom brought Carol back over to the house. All I really wanted to do was wash my car in peace, but Carol wanted to inquire about my dating life and suggested I reach out to Aimee. She sung Aimee’s praises and went on and on about how great of a catch she was. I agreed to reach out to Aimee on Facebook, which would lead to our first date.”
Aimee: “Michael and I were set up. I heard about him and how a friends mom wanted to set us up so I reached out to make it happen. Apparently, he
was dating others and wasn’t interested until the friends mom bothered him AGAIN and he agreed to reaching out to me (insert eye roll). He reached out on Facebook and I still have the conversation to share ;)”
“I admire that Aimee is caring, loving and very compassionate, and I can tell from the way that she treats Murray that she is going to be a great mother.”
“I love how close Mike is with his family. He’s patient with them and the go-to tech guy. He also helps my mom with all her printer and phone tech issues. She adores him. He also is quite organized, clean (for the most part), and reminds me of my dad when it comes to his personal items (especially his car).”
First Date:
Michael: “Our first date was on May 29, 2015 at a bar called Prime Stache in Old City (which, unfortunately, has since closed). I was physically attracted to her and very interested from the start. We had great conversation and the date flew by! But I didn’t get the impression that she was all that interested because she came in her “teacher attire” and it didn’t look like she had made an effort to dress to impress.”
Aimee: “We met at Prime Stache in Old City; May 29, 2015. He warned he had somewhere to be (I still say he had another date lined up). We had a few
beers (if I am willing to have more than one…I’m finding you attractive to say the least). We laughed about having terrible Birthright Israel trips. I definitely wanted to see him again but he was a hard read.”
When They Knew:
Michael: “I knew she was the one when I knew I wanted to show her off to my family, which happened on Christmas Day 2015 when I brought her over to my sister’s house for brunch.”
Aimee: “I definitely knew he was worth the wait because we moved slowly and didn’t jump into titles, labels, etc. I went with the flow which was out of the
norm but also paid off in the end. I invited Mike to meet my family after running the Philly Marathon November 2015. He surprised me on the route at 16th and Chestnut and then I really knew he was the real deal; fighting crowds so I’d see him at mile 5 or 6. I was impressed!”
The Proposal:
Michael: “I had a secret plan in place from the start. Late in the morning, I texted Aimee and told her that I was able to make reservations at Vetri, one of the top restaurants in the city (and on the Philly Magazine Top 50 list of places that we were trying to visit). I really didn’t have a reservation, but I wanted her to think that I did. So I had my secretary at work pose as a hostess from the restaurant, and call the home phone to leave a message on the machine to confirm the reservation. I knew Aimee would hear it because she was off from work. I was a nervous wreck all afternoon at work but tried to play it cool. After work, I came home to clean up and we walked from our condo down South Broad Street toward the restaurant. I was sweating the entire time, not just hoping that she couldn’t feel the ring case in my pocket, but also because I was leading her a little bit out of the way. Once we got to Walnut Street, we crossed Broad Street, with my co-worker secretly waiting at the corner to take photos, I brought Aimee up onto the median of the street to propose with City Hall in the background. After the proposal, we took a short ride to Bistro Romano, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner, where I surprised her with our families waiting to celebrate.”
Aimee: “Since we’ve frequented a lot of the Philly Top 50 restaurants when Michael told me he snagged a reservation “hookup” to Vetri I didn’t think anything of it. We had a voicemail from the restaurant confirming the restaurant which was totally normal. When he got home from work I pressed being on time, and having to get our Uber. I was shocked when he wanted to walk (I’m the Septa gal/walker while he prefers Uber). He led the way, which I hate since I prefer to weave. Little did I know our destination wasn’t Vetri and the center of Broad Street at Walnut instead. He started rambling, got down on his knee, and proposed.”
Engagement Session Experience:
“We had seen some of the recent work that Bee Dee Blue Photography had done for people we knew, and after meeting with Danielle and Bryn, it just confirmed for us that we would be in great hands. Our engagement session was a blast, and we were able to visit many of the spots where we spent our first year dating. Danielle and Bryn also put us at ease with how comfortable they were incorporating our dog Murray into the session.”
Vendors | Photography: Bee Dee Blue Photography | Engagement Ring: Golden Nugget Jewelers