AHH! SO MUCH joy in this one. I can’t wait to share this story with you!! As you read along the quotes and the story of Isaac & Elise, let me preface things with this: these two share their story with so much love & little bits of sarcasm in the most innocent & honest of ways & I love it! :) I’m also a fan of how Elise & I met, so it was awesome to have this opportunity to photograph her & Isaac’s love! Prepare yourself for both warmth & laughter in their story of love! :)

I met Elise at a bridal shower of one of my dear high school friends, Jane! Funnily enough, we both got Jane the same cute Anthropologie apron (BECAUSE THEIR PIECES ARE SO CUTE!)! Haha! We sat at the same table during the shower and we got to talking and we both realized that yup. We got our dear friend the same exact gift! HAH!! And to top it off, I left mine at home (sometimes I’m forgetful), and she packaged her gift in a way that I would have probably done it (I think it was a giraffe gift bag, or maybe it was just yellow? Man either of those things Jane would have tied to me!)! So Jane thought it was actually from me before she saw the note! Too funny!! :)

Anyway, down the line, Elise contacted me again on Facebook and we reconnected! I was SO happy to hear about her engagement to Isaac, and it thrilled me more to finally get to meet and see them both together in person! Their session was so much fun!! 

Isaac & Elise met right before one fateful day trip to Mexico for missions with their church! I love how Isaac put it!

“I remember at our logistics meeting prior to leaving for Mexico, I turned to my left and saw a pretty girl with a beaming smile.  I had to look away for I could not behold the glory.  That was my first impression of her.”

I wish I could insert a laughing emoji here! Let me just say, Isaac’s responses are always SO sweet about Elise! Haha! And Elise’s are just as sweet about Isaac, but she always throws in a bit of humor! For example, this was her first impression about Isaac:

“We were in a circle going over last minute things and there were two super fobby looking Korean guys who were there. I knew everyone but these two. When it came time to ask questions, one of them raised their hands and asked if they could still go if they didn’t have a passport. I judged them so hard. I thought “wow they must be dumb.””

Haha! Poor Isaac! But they finally met in person the day they were leaving and packing up to go! Elise finally introduced herself and thus began their friendship!

 

I learned about the first time Isaac asked out Elise, & it’s quite a funny story!

“I asked Elise out over Facebook messenger as any man would.  She was sick, and after what I thought was many conversations we were having together, I messaged her saying I’d love to treat her out for some coffee or for some food.  She replied that was very sweet of me.  I messaged back if that was a yes and that I was asking because I am interested in her.  She fell asleep.  I did not.  Just kidding, but in the morning, she responded saying she had no idea and if she could get back to me later that week with her response.  Two years later, we’re days from getting married!”

Poor Elise knocked out that night on Nyquil! Haha! At first she admitted that she wasn’t super interested in Isaac, but she gave him a chance after talking with friends and thinking things through! Good thing she did, because these two are amazing together! ;) 

 

These two chose to have part of their session at Dripp Coffee in Fullerton because of their history with working & studying together at coffeeshops over the course of their relationship! It was nice getting to photograph them in part of their element, and also get a tasty treat out of it as well! ;) 

As mentioned, over time (obviously) Isaac definitely won Elise over! I loved Elise’s description of her soon-to-be husband!

“Isaac is the kindest soul in the world. It makes him a pushover and I’m sure he’s taken advantage of easily, but he is consistent with who he is. Who he is with people in public is who he is with me and I love that reliability. But yeah, he’s just sooo sweet. I can’t really explain it but anyone who meets Isaac loves him.”

Isaac indeed has a very caring and sweet personality from the get-go! And so does Elise for that matter! How they talk to you is with so much genuine care and you can feel the warmth in their smiles! :)

Attuned to this sentiment about Isaac, I found out Isaac wrote Elise letters frequently through their time together. SO SWEET. :’) Elise kept every single one of them, which she brought along with her to the session! I love letters! Sigh! 

 

I had Elise & Isaac both expound on their thoughts of one another, and here are the three words Elise came up with to describe Isaac:

“Kind – Isaac is such a soft guy. I think it’s because he grew up with two older sisters but he is the sweetest man alive. He is always wanting to serve others even at the expense of his time, money, gas, energy, etc. I’ve never seen Isaac angry. I don’t think his family has either.

Sacrificial – See above! And he always offers the last of anything to me hehehe. He also risks his reputation if it means to protect me. We’re learning how to do this in a wise manner still.

People pleaser – Good and bad! When he wants to please multiple people who want different things, sometimes people get hurt and it can get messy. However he is somebody who is always thinking about others… I feel like all three of these are interchangeable hahaha”

I think all three descriptive words work together to really enhance what Elise said earlier, Isaac is an incredibly thoughtful & kind man. :)

Of course, Isaac had the sweetest things to say about Elise, too! I love his answer to what attracted him most to his fiancé! 

“It’s hard to come up with a word.  I’m attracted to the way she still makes me food even when I’ve done something to make her upset.  I’m attracted to the way she still supports me even when I feel weak.  I’m attracted to the way she still greets me with warm hugs and smiles, regardless of how the day goes.  Perhaps the word is consistency?  It’s her consistent nature that makes her so reliable and trustworthy.“

Bah! Yes! I teared at this statement. There’s so much grace and love in this! To put aside frustrations, disappointments and difficulties & to act with love for one another first–how beautiful! It was encouraging for me to read this & see the power of this kind of selfless love! (Insert love emoji here) 

Isaac’s three adjectives about Elise’s character are so true, too! She’s such a fun person to be around! :)

“Spunky – She has a spirited fiery presence that I can bask in all day.

Faithful – She is a loyal partner and avid defender for her friends and family.

Thoughtful – She always has my best interests in mind.”

Faithful & thoughtful really enhance what Isaac said earlier about her character, but spunky is one I think you see more in her own answers & even Instagram Story! Haha! ;) John & I definitely saw it more during our session with these two!

Now after Dripp, we went over to Carbon Canyon for a change of scenery! Let me prepare you for the glory to come next!

This past valentine’s day, Isaac had the most awesome idea ever! Instead of getting Elise a regular floral bouquet, he straight up made Elise a chicken bouquet–YES. You heard me correct, a chicken wing bouquet!! Elise had class til 7pm and hadn’t eaten so this was even MORE thoughtful (& awesome!!)

So jokingly, after hearing about this feat, I mentioned that he should make one for the session and HE DID. SO CRAZY! So lo & behold, the chicken bouquet made its appearance for a little during the session!! Haha!

Now you may be wondering how these two got engaged. And YES. There was humor & thoughtfulness all wrapped up in one.

“After Elise tutored Saturday morning, I took her furniture shopping afterwards because Elise has a knack for interior design, and we always wanted to check out these nice furniture stores we can’t afford.  All the while, friends were helping and preparing the proposal and the engagement party.  After furniture shopping, I took her to the first park we walked to during our relationship where my friends had the proposal set up. I thought it’d be a nice romantic trip down memory lane…”

– Isaac 

UGH. Yes. Another thing Elise & I have in common: a love for interior design!! What a fun day before the proposal!! :)

 

Now Isaac didn’t realize what this day looked like for Elise, haha! She was a bit stressed out with other things, as of course it would be for a surprise proposal so… this is what happened on her end:

“I told him something along the harsh lines of:
“No, Isaac I really need to study and get work done. I have to lesson plan for science and social science and math and do homework and do my edTPAs. You have to understand that I can’t go on these dates as often anymore and you need to respect my time and my status of being a grad student. and honestly, I never liked going to that park. It was just there.”

Yeah, ouch.

But Isaac being the sweet man he is just apologized and took it. And still forced me. LOL. I really don’t deserve him.”

You wouldn’t believe how many times surprise proposals happen & a girl isn’t prepared! I mean, it’s a surprise after all! Haha! At least Elise wasn’t hangry as how it usually goes! ;) Haha! I love Isaac’s response to this whole situation!

“Turns out, she didn’t really like this park too much from the get go, so I started sweating.  Just kidding, but we crossed a bridge in the park and there laid a bed of rose petals and my guitar.  She thought it was all a bluff, until she didn’t.“

– Isaac

Elise legitimately thought Isaac was bluffing for a little bit!

“…I thought “no way he’s proposing today. like this.here. he’s bluffing.” because Isaac told me to cancel my tutoring sessions for THREE SATURDAYS !! And this was only the first week.

I thought he was playing me and that the actual proposal would be in the later weeks. it didn’t help that there were times throughout this past month when he’d make the mood serious and stick his hand in his pocket (at the beach, during dinner, etc.)!

Why, he’s the boy who cried proposal!”

But then Elise saw their photographer friend capturing the moment & knew.

“I sang her a song I wrote about how sweet she is and how I want to call her my wife.  I may have shed a tear here and there.  I actually cried a lot.  I also wanted to sing a praise song together afterwards, but I was too nervous.

I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me.  She said, “Sorry, Isaac” to which I replied, “No wait…” to which she replied, “Just kidding.  Yes!” to which I thought, “I love this woman.”“

Haha! I love how this just reeks of Elise’s spunk & also Isaac’s thoughtfulness! What a perfect proposal for these two. :) Good job, Isaac!

Amidst the fun & jokes, there’s just an invisible bond that shows how much these two love one another in the way they just are. I can’t explain it fully, but working with these two was so easy because even though they aren’t huge on PDA (surprise, right?), it just came so naturally between them!

I love how Elise talks about their relationship:

“…I love that Isaac is somebody I can do nothing with and still have a blast. I genuinely just like to be with him. We can go to a coffee shop and read and we’ll make a date out of it. There aren’t a lot of people I can just sit and do nothing with and think of it as a good use of time/fun time. He’s also somebody i can talk about anything with. We’ll have spiritual discussions over dinner and just talk about Sunday’s messages in the car and encourage each other– there aren’t a lot of people I can do this with either.”

 

“I’m fond of our car rides when I’m driving and she’ll lean over and wrap her arms around my right arm and lay her head on my shoulder.  It is an endearing gesture of closeness to me.“

– Isaac

So sweet!!!

I asked these two what they’ve learned over the course of their relationship, & I love what each of them had to share. The relationship John & I have had over the years had similar difficulties & growth, and so both of their sentiments were things I take to heart, too. :)

“There have been multiple struggles but i think the overarching one is communication. They say it’s key to any relationships so we’re in trouble LOL. Isaac leaves out a lot of details when it comes to sharing about important things. Especially in wedding planning. I would find out that he made plans to do something or double booked things without running it past me so it would be frustrating. It’s gotten better with conversations on the topic but we had to verbally say that as partners now we can’t live for ourselves but we really have to share a schedule. We can’t assume the other person is free or is okay with certain pans taking action. And every decision made or in the making should be talked to with the other person.”

– Elise

Don’t worry Elise (& anyone else struggling with this)–you guys aren’t alone in this! ;) John & I have come a long way in communication, yet we still struggle from time to time with similar things!  Just keep pressing on together in working on it! :)

Isaac admitted to this same struggle:

“I tend to not listen to Elise appropriately or understand her in a way she would feel understood.  It’s still a work in progress on my part, but I’m thankful that Elise is often quick to restore and be forgiving towards me.”

I’m thankful for their openness in sharing this publicly because it shows three aspects that I think are so important!

1. Working as a team. 2. Listening well. 3. Extending grace. 

& Again, yes. These areas of growth are areas that I think many people, including John & myself, will continue to grow in through marriage! :)

“There’s a joy that comes when two people exclusively have a commitment of love to each other through thick and thin, through the pain of sin and the peace of reconciliation, through every season of life…

…Relationships are humbling as you see more of your sins exposed to and affect the person you love most.  Remember that sin always seeks to destroy, and the fruits of the Spirit are rather restorative. 

A tame tongue can go a long way.”

Preach it Isaac. Those were some wise words he shared as I continued to ask them about things they’ve come to learn & grow in through dating one another. They were also things he wanted to encourage those of you out there with! :)

Something Isaac would cling to while dating Elise:

“How will I pursue her today?“

 

 

I equally love Elise’s truthful words of what she clung to throughout their relationship! :)

“This is all God’s grace to me…

I hated that I ended class late sometimes because it meant I saw Isaac less. But this was good because seeing him alone late at night would not be wise for us.

I hated that Isaac lived with his parents and as a grown adult with a full time job, he had a curfew. But again, this was God’s grace to us as we would often be tempted to cross boundaries.

A lot of the things I hated that felt restraining were for our good. I felt like we’d never make it to marriage but here we are :) There has been so much grace shown to me–can’t name ‘em all though!”

Wow! Perspective can change so much of how we handle & consider the trials & challenges we face! I’m reminded of Romans 8:28 and the reminder that He works things together for our good–it may not be as we would like it to be, but in ways that grow us, shape us & push us to being more & more like Jesus in ways we might not have imagined.

And this all leaves us here: These two are getting married THIS SATURDAY (November 4th)!! & I am BEYOND excited for them!! HOORAYYY!!!!!

I asked them if they had any words of advice for those of you engaged, & I loved what Elise had to share:

“ENJOY IT !!!!!! So many people have told me engagement goes by fast and in the beginning it was super slow but zoomed past me. A lot of people also told me engagement was also hard because they had to make a lot of decisions together and so they fought a lot. However with us we just really enjoyed engagement. Prayer really helped us. We always wanted to focus on important things, not color schemes or floral arrangements. Praying to have that kind of mindset was a prayer always answered.

Dating is tough and there’s so much you want to do that is only meant to be done in the context of marriage and so when I say enjoy it, I mean it ! There is a season for everything and even with restrictions, good restrictions,we learn to not be dependent on our SO, to trust in God alone, understand that we are indeed weak and are failures but those are all redeemedby the perfect work of Christ.

Patience is key and I really truly believe waiting is worth every penny lol. Enjoy being single and enjoy the transitions to marriage :)”

I’ll end things on that note! :)

Happy Thursday!!