A few months ago I met with Sarah and her mom at a Panera in North Raleigh to discuss potentially capturing Sarah’s upcoming wedding to Eric. Whenever I do one of these meetings, one of the first things I ask is the story of how he proposed. I was in for quite the surprise when I found out that Eric hadn’t actually popped the question yet! I’m sure my face looked incredibly confused (as I’m so bad at hiding my facial expressions). Sarah continued to tell me how she and Eric had been together forever and how he had planned to around Thanksgiving but forgot! Eric is in dental school and was a bit preoccupied!

Don’t worry, around the December holiday season Eric asked Sarah to spend the rest of her life with him and she said yes! He proposed using Sarah’s grandmother’s STUNNING ring–seriously–you’ll need to check this rock out! Sarah & Eric were so fun to hang out with for the afternoon. Mike and I are looking forward to their beach wedding this May! This relaxed couple is all about family and it shows in their personalities.

When I was corresponding with Sarah about where to shoot their engagement session, Sarah suggested Dorothea Dix Park near Downtown Raleigh. This park boasts an awesome view of the Raleigh skyline and is a great place for a photo shoot if you can get passed it’s somewhat interesting past.

If you didn’t know, before it was Dorothea Dix Park, this location was Dorothea Dix Hospital for psychiatric patients. The hospital was in existence from the 1800s up until 2012 when it’s final patients were transferred to different hospitals. The park has lots of abandoned buildings that make for really neat backdrops! Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself!