Meet Jackie and Anthony! I recently traveled to Manassas to take their Manassas Battlefield engagement photos on what ended up being an unusually chilly and quite windy, beautiful fall day. The sky was clear and our golden hour was one of the most intensely golden I’ve seen yet. Anthony and Jackie are so kind-hearted, fun-loving, and easy to hang out with. Between these two, the open fields and the gorgeous light, I couldn’t take a bad photo if I tried. These two are getting married next September at Riverside on the Potomac and I am so excited for their day! In the meantime, scroll to see all my faves from their engagement session at Manassas Battlefield Park. And as always, get ready to read a bit about these two in their love story interview below. I’m so excited to share these previews with you all and hope you enjoy!
Jackie: We first met in the summer of 2015 when we were on the same kickball team in DC after graduating college. Most of Anthony’s friends were on the team and I joined after getting an invite though someone from college. Despite losing almost every game, everyone had a good time and Anthony and I slowly became in the same friend group. At first Anthony was very quiet around me so it took a trip to Great Falls and a group chat to get to really get to know Anthony. We started hanging out more and soon became close friends.
Anthony: We first met while playing in a kickball league on the National Mall back in the summer of 2015. Our team was made up of a bunch of mutual friends and Jackie was a friend of a friend.
Anthony: I thought Jackie was a lot of fun to be around and was a much better kickball player than me.
Jackie: The first time we interacted was at kickball (read above). I just remember him as the T-shirt/knee brace guy. He didn’t talk to me much, but he was a flip-cup champ.
Jackie: Anthony and I had been friends for while at this point. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. At some point I realized I had a crush on him, but we were just friends and I wasn’t sure how he felt. One night, we went out in DC with some friends and ended up at the rooftop of a bar called Marvin. Anthony kissed me for the first time (I was shocked but so happy) and asked if I would go on a date to ICE with him with day after Christmas.
Anthony: After the kickball league ended Jackie and I became part of the same group of friends and started getting to know each other better. About a year and a half later we went out in DC with a few of our friends the weekend before Christmas. I got a moment to talk to Jackie alone and I took my chance to ask her if she wanted to go out on a date with me sometime. She said yes and the day after Christmas we went to National Harbor to get dinner and see ICE at the Gaylord hotel. We’ve kept this tradition going every year on the day after Christmas.
Anthony: I told my friends that I thought the date went well even though we went through the ICE exhibit really fast because I was so nervous.
Jackie: I told a few of my friends and my parents about this date. My friends because they all knew him and my family because it was the day after Christmas and they wanted me to stay and hang out.
Jackie: I’m not sure the exact moment, but I can say from the beginning this relationship felt extremely special. Anthony is predictable yet full of so many surprises. He makes me feel safe yet pushes me out of my comfort zone. He makes me laugh constantly and adds so much joy to life.
Anthony: One of the first moments I knew that Jackie was the one was when we ran a half marathon together in May of 2017. Jackie was a marathon expert having done 4 or 5 marathons at that point and I hadn’t ever run anything over a 5k. Jackie helped me train in the months leading up to the race and ran with me during the entire half marathon helping me finish in under two hours. Finishing a half marathon in that time wasn’t something I ever thought I’d be able to do and I know I couldn’t have done it without Jackie running by my side.
Jackie: We were in Thailand on the island of Koh Samui. It was our last night in Thailand before we stopped in Dubai and headed home. Anthony said that we were going out to dinner, but wouldn’t tell me where (which I thought was weird because he’s such a planner). We got dressed and headed towards the front of the resort to exit. He suddenly turned us around and we started walking towards the beach (which I also thought was weird). I’m not going to be able to describe this set up and do it justice, but I will try my best. There was a two person dinner set up on the beach with candles, drapes, and flower petals. It was absolutely stunning. At first was nervous, but Anthony kept assuring me that this was something he saw online and that it was something he really wanted to do while in Thailand. We had dinner. Dessert came and it was mango sticky rice. There were four parts to it: coconut ice cream, mango, some white liquid, and what looked like an upside down ice cream cone made out of a leaf. I wasn’t sure how to eat it so I asked the server. She lifted up the green leaf cone and under it was rice with chocolate on it that said “will you marry me”? I immediately started crying, but Anthony was lifting up his own cone looking at his own plate not knowing the rice was going to say that. When he realized what had happened we both got up and kissed and I said yes!
Anthony: We were on a 2 week trip in Thailand and Cambodia and on one of the last nights in Thailand I told Jackie that I had planned a dinner for us. As we were walking out of our hotel I took her on a detour towards the beach where a candlelit dinner was set up. I tried my best to play it cool through dinner until they brought out the dessert plate that had “Will you marry me?” written in chocolate.
Anthony: I love how compassionate and kind Jackie is. She really cares about other people and is always looking to do what’s best for her friends, family, and students.
Jackie: Anthony is SO thoughtful! He makes lists of things I say and want to do and will randomly surprise me with them (he puts all plans we have together in pink in his calendar). He is kind, funny, patient, and smart. I am so thankful to have him in my life!
Jackie: Anthony is very detail-oriented. He sets reminders on his phone for EVERYTHING. We are complete opposites – he definitely keeps me on track!
Anthony: One of Jackie’s quirks that I love is that she always asks if I want her to drive whenever we go anywhere together even though we both know that she’d rather have me drive. It always makes me laugh when she slips up and automatically walks to the passenger side of her car without asking if I want her to drive first.
Jackie: I’m so excited to have all the people that I love the most together in one place. It’s really exciting that all the people we love get to share this special moment in our lives with us.
Anthony: The moment I’m most looking forward to at our wedding is after Jackie walks down the aisle when we’re standing up in front of our friends and family underneath the arbor moments away from beginning our life together.
Manassas Battlefield Engagement Photos
If you are engaged and seeking engagement photos in Northern Virginia, be sure to reach out to me!