I know I was meant to be Aly and Joel’s photographer when our initial call to talk through their wedding day and what it’d be like to work together lasted almost 2 hours!!! I would say 35% of that was walking through wedding specifics and answering very thoughtful questions they had, and the rest of the call was just talking about life, being wedding vendors (which is how they met!!!), and Joel’s royal status.

So it really wasn’t a surprise when their engagement photos went the exact same way –– we spent ANOTHER hour after the shoot talking about our best (read: weirdest and funniest) wedding experiences.

Their engagements at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC played perfect homage to their first date at a coffee shop in Boone, NC. It was a HOT day, but we made it work and they are just too cute together.

Aly and Joel are such a perfect pair, complimenting each other in the best ways. I know their big day is going to be beautiful, emotional, and most of all, FUN. I can’t wait to meet their families and friends and experience the BEST food ever (as discussed, this is a high priority!!!).

Until then, here are some of my favorite of their engagement photos!!!

For the end of our session, we headed over to Dorthea Dix park, where Joel asked Aly to be his forever, to get some photos with the Raleigh skyline!