Rain, nature & two best friends celebrating their engagement at Kings Gap Mansion….
Rachel & David contacted me looking for creative wedding and engagement photos that would convey their story, personalities and emotion.   They wanted high-quality photographs that would have a real “wow” factor, which is just what I set out to do with their engagement photography.  🙂
I arrived early for their King’s Gap Mansion engagement session and sat in my car in the pouring rain.  It had been raining all morning and continued to rain until it was time to start shooting– at that point it abruptly stopped(!) Rachel was about to leave to start Medical School in Kansas City, so rescheduling wasn’t really an option, so they just rolled with it.
I asked Rachel what she thought of the rain, she said that she knew I would be able to get creative with the raindrops etc and wasn’t worried.  Here is her engagement ring among the wet leaves.  I like how the drops are acting like a prism and showing rainbow-colored bokeh below her ring and magnifying the texture of the leaves to the left.

King’s Gap is absolutely stunning– from the stone mansion to the sprawling gardens, I always love photographing couples there.  It is a wedding venue, too– here is a wedding that I photographed there.   Here Rachel and David sit in the sun together on a stone wall, showing the mansion in the background.

Rachel and David were first brought together by Penn State Football.  They had attended high school together and had the same group of friends at PSU.  They would hang out as a group and go to games and things.  David soon realized that Rachel was one of the nicest people he had ever met and that he could open-up and fully be himself around her.

Rachel & David are always there for each other– on good days, bad days, fun events and life’s commitments.  David is the first person that Rachel talks to about anything and he is very supportive of all that she does, even medical school, which for David means moving across the country and accepting a new job in Kansas City.
They are each other’s main support and closest friend in all circumstances.  I really like know that comes across in this image as you can see the wide sky with bright clouds and dark, rainy ones and Rachel & David literally supporting each other in the corner.   It’s like they can take on the world 😉

Another benefit of the rain was that the ground was very soft– here Rachel is drawing a bit, I like that you can see her cute shoes and engagement ring, too.

Their engagement story is really sweet.  David spent hours stringing white lights on the deck behind his parent’s house in the winter when temps were in the low teens.  Once his fingers were thoroughly frozen, he told Rachel they would be going out with his parents for dinner.
He told her that his parents garage door was broken and that they’d have to go around to the deck (his heart totally pounding, haaa).  When they walked into the back of the house she saw the lights, the flowers, the champagne.  She was caught totally off-gaurd and said she couldn’t have planned a more perfect proposal!

Rachel said that she is more serious and he’s definitely more goofy and she loves him for it.  He can always cheer her up and make her laugh or smile.  I like this next photo because you can really see them being goofballs together.

Eye to eye– Rachel and David have the same perspective in many ways (well maybe not when the Giants are playing the Packers, but definitely in most other ways).   Both value family and spend a good deal of time with their families and with each other’s family.  Love their eyelashes!

They chose King’s Gap Mansion for their engagement session because they were looking for a location near me that would be outdoorsy but yet elegant and little black dress appropriate.  They wanted a space that would be unique as well.

A real asset of King’s Gap that I didn’t mention earlier is this stunning outlook that gives a view of Carlisle and the surrounding Cumberland Valley Area.  It is quite a beautiful central Pennsylvania scene and on that I love to photograph.  I like how the couple is framed in pine branches and the mountains can be seen through a thin veil of mist behind them.  
Rachel & David, it was a pleasure to meet both of you and I am very much looking forward to your Lehigh University ceremony and Riverview Country Club reception next year!  I wish you both all the very best with your work (med school/new job) and your new life together in Kansas City.  I’m excited to hear what you (and your photo-loving mom) think about these!