What do you get when a pastry chef from Florida and a savory chef from Michigan - both avid pumpkin carving junkies - showcase their first home together, doing what they love, for an engagement session with Lovely Bee Photography ? This little gem of a perfect-for-this-weather sesh, plus a whole ton of seasonal cheer.
The two met at a French bistro in Cape Cod - she was baking pastries as an intern, and he was a recently minted sous chef. They worked opposite shifts, and never spent any time together... until Danielle learned that Drew, after a few too many beers, had revealed to a coworker one night that he thought she was "the most beautiful girl in the whooole world."
Danielle was a little confused: they'd had very little interaction. But, she'd heard he was great, so - why not, right? The next day, she asked him to lunch; lunch turned into dinner and then a movie later that night. Danielle only had a few weeks to get to know Drew before the end of her internship and move back to Florida, but that's all it took.
“ I've spent our four years together endlessly thankful that fate nudged us together and that we decided to take a risk and give a long distance relationship a try. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful person to spend the rest of my life with.”
And the proposal was just as heartwarming and as adorable as you knew it would be. For Valentine's Day, the two decided to make each other's favorite meal (oh, the perks of dating a chef!) instead of gifts. Drew made Danielle's favorite - King crab macaroni and cheese - and she enjoyed every bite. Nothing seeming out of the ordinary until he announced that dessert would be in the backyard they never spend time in: "I followed him out the side door and as we turned the corner to the backyard, I was speechless! In our normally empty backyard sat a small bistro table, full of roses and candles, and lit by dozens of glowing lanterns that he'd strung all around our tree to surround the table. It looked like a dream."
I immediately started crying like a baby, as it was clear to me how much effort went into putting this all together, but here I was just thinking it was simply a romantic Valentine's Day gesture. When I finally stopped crying and thanking him long enough for him to speak, he said he was glad I liked everything but that he had one more surprise left. At that point he got down on his knee and proposed - and I turned into a blubbering mess all over again. Our engagement was at home, in our backyard, and it was perfect.
Danielle and Drew will be saying I do (how perfect is that?) in February with a culinary-inspired soiree at the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach. The florals will feature herbs and veggies, perfect for Drew's all-chef groomsman lineup, which sounds pretty perfect to me. Congrats, guys!
