It’s an incredible special thing to be a part of someone’s wedding. It’s even more special when it’s your best friend, and you get to not only be a part of the wedding day as the Maid of Honor, but you also get to be their photographer. So needless to say, this engagement session in Siesta Key Beach, Florida for my best friend and her fiance, was a really special one for me.

 

And while I haven’t yet stood next to these two on a wedding day, I’ve had the pleasure of watching their love blossom (more so hearing about it since we live so far away) into what it is today.

 

Amanda has been my best friend since we were teenagers. Between the two of us, we’ve probably helped each other through at least a dozen break-ups and bad relationships. And I remember when I met Scott, when I was abroad in Denmark, messaging Amanda on Facebook that I had found the one. Five years later, I got a text from Amanda that said “What did it feel like when you met Scott? Because I think I found the one.” Ya see, there was this cute guy at the gym named Ryan that she was crushing on…and after a game of soccer where she kicked his ass, sparks started flying.

 

A few days later, she had her first date with Ryan.  Not one month after, Amanda was getting ready to head off to bootcamp, with the Army, and her new relationship with Ryan needed to be figured out. Was this a long-term relationship? Or was this a fling before she left for bootcamp? I think they both knew it wasn’t a fling and never was, so when Amanda left for bootcamp, Ryan made a promise to write her all the time.

 

A few months went by, not even being able to call or text each other since she had no phone, and the letters were piling up. I remember hearing stories from Ryan’s friends about how happy he would get when a letter came from her. From bootcamp, after graduating, Amanda had 24 hours to spend with family before heading off to AIT in Georgia. Ryan came up with Amanda’s mom from Florida, and her dad flew down from NJ and they got to spend a short 24 hours together before she went to Georgia for a few more months.

 

Luckily, this time she’d be able to have a phone on occasion, so it was a little easier, and Ryan would be allowed to visit as well. He went up for a few long weekends but then went back down to Sarasota come Monday mornings.

 

It was around mid training that Ryan texted me and told me he was planning on asking Amanda to marry him. He sent me pictures of rings, scoured Amanda’s Pinterest for inspiration, and then found a jeweler to design her a custom, absolutely stunning rose-gold ring. I didn’t know what his plans were for the proposal, since I leave so far away, but on November 5, just 1 day after Amanda had graduated from AIT, Ryan got down on one knee with their friends and family surrounding them on Siesta Key Beach, where their love story began and blossomed.

 

I remember getting the call while I was at a wedding, and getting a video from Amanda – I had to step outside because I was crying, and then I called her Dad to celebrate the occasion as well.

 

All this time, I had only known Ryan from Skype or FaceTime, but finally, about a month and a half after they got engaged, they came home to New Jersey for Christmas.

 

Amanda and Ryan spent a lot of time with Scott and I, and I made sure to take off as much time as possible so that I could really get to know him! (I mean after all- he’s marrying my best friend!!) We went Christmas shopping, hung out at Scott’s, went to dinner a few times, got drinks, played trivia at the bar, and I instantly knew why Amanda had fallen in love with him.

 

Ryan has such a charismatic personality, and he’s the type of person that will do anything for a friend. He’ll give you crap about it first, and make fun of you a lot, but at the end of the day, he’s an incredible friend, and I instantly felt like I had known him for years. After a week together I was confident he’d do anything to make my best friend happy.

 

Fast forward another year, and one deployment to Korea later, we all found ourselves in Siesta Key for Amanda’s welcome home party. She was deployed in Korea for 9 months, and these two withstood so much during that time. I honestly can’t imagine what that’s like, and I commend these two for being able to keep a relationship alive with a 14 hour time difference and a phone.

 

A bunch of us flew down to Florida (me, Scott, my parents, Amanda’s dad, her cousins, all of her and Ryan’s friends, and her family in Florida) to welcome her home with a party on the beach. It seemed like the perfect place to do their engagement session, since it’s where so much of their love story took place, so on one of our free day’s, we took their engagement pictures on the lawn of our house for the week, and on the beach out in front of our house.

 

We were blessed with the most beautiful weather and gorgeous sunset you can imagine, and these two were even willing to try and hop on the paddle board for a few shots! You’ll see this didn’t exactly go as planned… but at least we laughed about! Amanda ended up completely underwater and soaked, and Ryan ended up laughing hysterically at all of this happening. (As did I, behind the camera, nice and dry!)

 

I absolutely love these pictures and how much they capture their personalities.

 

Amanda- I am so incredibly lucky and thankful that I get to call you my best friend and sister. I love you more than I could ever explain and I am so excited to stand by your side on your wedding day.

 

Ryan- thank you for making my best friend so happy, and for making it so easy to be your friend. I’m so thankful you two found each other, and can’t wait to be a part of your special day.

 

I can’t wait to see what our all of our future’s hold together. I know we have a lifetime of adventures to come.