kathleen + ryan | an inverness brewing golden hour engagement session

Kathleen and Ryan wanted to try this photo during their engagement session at Inverness Brewing about 3 minutes after we arrived and got warmed up. It speaks volumes about their personalities and how perfectly in sync they are; while not our first take, this photo (that isn’t photoshopped!) only took 3 tries – timing truly is everything! 😉

Don’t take my word for it though, keep reading to hear their ‘how we met’ story to really understand why…

This golden hour magic came shortly after… how adorable are they? They literally fit together and complement each other in every way. Silly, sweet, sultry… they were such a dream and photogenic duo! I CAN. NOT. wait for their festive wintry wedding at Haven Street Ballroom!!!

In Kathleen’s words, how they met:

Flash back to 2012: Kathleen is living a quiet life with her friends Taylor and Michelle as they try to make it out of nursing school alive. Ryan is having the time of his life in Blacksburg, peaking in his college years with his friends. CJ, one of Ryan’s Hokie friends, was high school sweatheart to Kathleen’s friend Taylor. When visiting in Baltimore, CJ made sure to travel with 10 of his best Hokie friends, who always guaranteed a good time. It was during these fun Baltimore weekends, including New Years Eve and a Ravens SuperBowl win, that Ryan and Kathleen met.

Fast forward to 2014: Kathleen and Ryan hit it off on the dance floor at Taylor and CJ’s wedding reception! However, the two failed to exchange phone numbers before parting from the wedding weekend. A few weeks later, as Kathleen was “showing her nightshift coworkers how Tinder works,” she came across a mustachioed face that she recognized – none other than that of a sombrero-ed Ryan McGrath! Kathleen swiped right and the rest is history!

You have to hear the details of the super sweet Patterson Park engagement at the pagoda that Ryan planned…

“The proposal took place in the Pagoda in Patterson Park, just a few blocks from our house. We had always talked about checking out the inside of the Pagoda, and walked by it a zillion times, but we never timed it right during visitor hours. Ryan had planned a post-engagement brunch with both his and Kathleen’s parents under the guise of Ryan’s mom “just wanting to get everyone together because it had been awhile.” Kathleen’s parents threw her off by feigning to decline the invite, so suspicions were low.

On the morning of the brunch, we agreed to walk to brunch through the park. On the way, Ryan noted that there was someone attending the pagoda and suggested that we finally go inside to check it out (Ryan had arranged ahead of time for a special opening). On the way down from exploring the pagoda, Ryan escorted Kathleen to what he had determined would be the best spot for a photo op, as our friend Taylor (who introduced us, see above) was hiding in the bushes to capture the whole thing! Ryan dropped down on one knee, Kathleen gushed, and then we celebrated all day long, first with our parents at Mama’s on the Half Shell, then with our friends at Fell’s Fun Fest (Kathleen inadvertently planned her own engagement party by generating FFF hype).”

Here’s to snuggling up together as husband and wife VERY SOON! We can’t wait to celebrate alongside you and capture all the special details you have planned with the help of the one and only, The Otherside Creatives!

xo,
Naomi