Time to meet our next engagement shoot contest finalists Kristyn and Christopher! Kristyn and Christopher both love craft beer and want to be photographed at a Long Island brewery brewing beer, tasting beer, and picking hops/grains/ingredients. Don’t you just love couples who share hobbies together? To vote for Kristyn and Christopher simply click here and write their names on the post in the comments section. Please only one vote per reader.

Be sure to check back in with us this week to read more about our last finalists. We will feature each couple throughout the voting period, which ends Sunday, March 11. And don’t forget! Our winner will be announced Thursday, March 15!

*Photography in this post is not the work of Esvy Photography and was provided to Esvy by Kristyn and Christopher.

How did you and your fiance meet?

Ironically, Chris’s best friend, Brian, and my best friend, Lauren, were going to school together at NYIT and were in the same classes studying physical therapy. When they went out to celebrate the end of their fall semester, they each invited us along. Chris always says that he noticed me from across the bar. He was involved in a sports conversation when he thought I was looking at him. So he left the guys to come join my conversation. It turns out I really was just looking out the window, not at him, but he had my attention now. Eventually it was just the two of us who talked the rest of the night. We exchanged numbers and planned to meet for lunch in NYC because as it turned out, we worked a half block away from each other. A few days later we went out to lunch at what my coworkers affectionately called the “dirty deli” and the rest is history.

How did he propose?

Sometime in October, Chris had asked me if we could go to Rehoboth Beach, DE for his birthday and visit his favorite brewery Dogfish Head. That same weekend was also homecoming at my alma mater, the University of Delaware, in Newark so I happily said “of course.” We had planned to spend Chris’ birthday starting the day by watching the sunrise and then visiting the brewery and local shore shops. Chris was really eager to see the sunrise since he wanted to “see the sun rise in the east” and “set in the west” since we would be on the east coast (Delaware) for his birthday and then the west coast (California) for vacation a couple weeks later. So, on Monday, November 14, Chris’ birthday, Chris woke me up to see the sunrise.

I was going to go in my pajamas but when I saw Chris fully dressed and ready at 6am, I changed with his encouragement. We then walked to the beach and Chris laid out a blanket for us to sit on. As the sun rose, we took pictures of each other with the sunrise and then while I was standing for a picture, Chris got down on one knee and reached for his pocket. I said, “yes” without Chris even saying a word (he was shaking so much). Chris then said something but those words are lost in time to the both of us. I really should have known it was coming since there was a photographer on the beach at 6:30 in the morning on a cold, windy day but I really thought he was there to photograph the sunrise! Chris actually hired him to capture the moment.

Why should readers vote for your idea?

Doing a photography shoot combining love and beer doesn’t sound like a “wedding” but weddings aren’t about being like everyone else. They don’t all have to have the same elements, involve all the elegance and class, or be conventional. With weddings today being about things a couple have a common interest in like boats, movies and music, why not have an engagement shoot about beer. I’ve never seen an engagement shoot about beer or at a brewery so it would be unique, new, creative, interesting and challenging (but who’s not up for a challenge!). Chris and I have traveled the country visiting breweries and some have better architecture than museums with vibrant history painted in murals on walls and equipment dating back to when our country’s ancestors were only traveling here. We’ve tasted hundreds (maybe thousands of beers), each with it’s own sense of style and creativity. We’ve meet hundreds of brewers all demonstrating passion for their beer and the beer community. It’s with the beer community’s style, creativity and passion that Chris and I will make one amazing engagement photo shoot. People should vote for us to see something different, encourage individuality in weddings and give Esvy Photographers something they’ve never done before.

Today begins our feature posts on our five engagement shoot contest finalists. First up, let’s meet Amanda and Ryan! Their engagement shoot idea is flexible. They love 1940s style and hope to capture a feeling of early American glamour or a warm vintage vibe in their photographs. Their proposed shooting locations include Coney Island, an old New York theatre, and the Planting Fields Arboretum. To vote for Amanda and Ryan simply click here and write their names on the post in the comments section. Please only one vote per reader.

Be sure to check back in with us throughout the rest of February and early March to read more about our other finalists. We will feature each couple throughout the voting period, which ends Sunday, March 11. And don’t forget! Our winner will be announced Thursday, March 15!

*Photography in this post is not the work of Esvy Photography and was provided to Esvy by Amanda and Ryan.

How did you and your fiance meet?

My fiance and I met through our mutual best friend Cami. We were doing a production of a Motown themed variety show in the spring of 2006. Ryan played trombone and I was a dancer. Our initial meeting was awkward to say the least. Cami, Ryan, and I went out for dinner and he absolutely could not stand me. He later told me he thought I was gorgeous but completely lacked a personality. Turns out the reason I was acting so standoffish, is because I have a huge stomachache! Thankfully he gave me another chance. We began dating in May and would often have picnics in the park. We would talk for hours. That’s when we got to know each other and fell in love.

How did he propose?

Ryan proposed to me on May 18th 2011, exactly five years after that first date. He surprised me that day by showing up and taking me on a beautiful picnic he had planned at a park near my home. He suggested we go for a walk. As we walked over a bridge overlooking the lake he got down on one knee and he asked me if we could spend the rest of our lives together. I said yes. Whether life be a picnic or a storm, we are glad to be going on this journey together as husband and wife.

Why should readers vote for your idea?

I think readers should vote for our idea because I feel so strongly about both the concept of our shoot and my fiance. We have been through so much together these past 5+ years, and I would love to have beautiful photographs capturing our relationship the way we see it, a simple 1940’s kind of love.