Sedona Engagement Session: Ashley & Derrick
Ashley & Derrick are just a couple months out from their beautiful brunch wedding at Mountain Shadows. We’ve had so much fun planning with them over the last 5 months…these condensed planning timelines end up being a whirlwind experience but they also allow for us to spend a lot of quality time with these special couples.
As we approach their final days as an engaged couple, we felt it was only fitting to share a bit more about their engagement. Also, can we talk about this eye-candy from Saje Photography….HOLY MOLY! Most photos taken in Sedona are pretty breathtakingly beautiful, but these…these are show stopping. THAT LIGHT!
From the bride:
“My alarm was set for 4:00 am as I dragged myself out of bed and woke my best friend up (who slept on our couch the night before). It was an emotional morning of dropping her off at the airport for her to move back to Connecticut. I cried the whole way home and crawled back in bed as Derrick was still sleeping. After a few more hours of sleep, I woke up still emotional, but we planned out our day. It was a list of errands and we had plans to meet up with some friends to make gingerbread houses that evening.
As the day went on, I was just still tired and didn’t feel up to doing anything so I thought it’d be nice to just stay in and watch Netflix and get to bed early. I changed into my pjs and ate a bowl of cereal for dinner [LOL] with the tv on in the background. At about 8:00 pm I told Derrick I was super tired and was going to go lay down in bed and watch a show. He immediately said, “Okay I’ll come with you!!” I was like you don’t have to babe… and thought it was funny that he was ready to come upstairs too. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and got in bed.
A few minutes later, I thought I hadn’t seen our cat (Witty) in a while, so I checked her usual spots (in the closet & under the bed). She was extra stand offish since we had the house cleaned and she is terrified of the vacuum. I found her under the bed and couldn’t really see her well, so I turned my flashlight all the way up on my phone. I saw Witty sitting under the bed with a red bow tie collar on her. I was SO confused as I had no clue how it got on her. Derrick was with me the whole day and the only people in our house were the cleaning ladies. I started freaking out saying "How did that get on her!!?" Derrick finally said he put it on her and wanted it to be a Christmas surprise. I thought that was so cute and after multiple attempts at trying to get her out from under the bed to see it closer, we turned off the lights and put a tv show on.
After about an hour, I hear a noise under the bed (Witty’s collar hitting the floor) and her rustling around. She finally came out and was acting so strange with the collar on (she doesn’t typically wear one). She started walking backwards and I was hysterically laughing. Witty made her way to her corner in the closet in her little bed and I finally was able to pick her up. I was holding her and looking at her collar and as I looked down, the collar tag read, “Will you Marry my Daddy?” I was in completely shock and I look up and Derrick is on his knee! I completely blacked out and don’t remember much after this, but I kept saying, “Are you being serious?? Is this really happening right now??.” After what seemed like a few minutes, Derrick asked, “Is that a yes??” With tears in my eyes, I said of course and we talked in bed for a while (little did I know, my parents had been waiting for a phone call since Derrick called them earlier in the day). Derrick asked if I wanted to put the ring on (it had been sitting on the dresser as I blacked out from shock I didn’t even remember to put it on).
I called my parents and grandparents and let them know the news! Derrick then told me to pack a bag and that we were heading up to Sedona to celebrate. We spent the next two days at La’Auberge in the most beautiful suite celebrating just the two of us. We told a few of our close friends and the rest of our families, but spent the next week enjoying the time by ourselves. I’ll forever cherish those memories and how he incorporated our cat into the proposal!”
