We had the most amazing time at the beautiful Hillsborough River State Park capturing Kayla and Cody’s engagement photographs. Kayla and Cody are getting married this fall at Rafter J Ranch Barn in Parrish, FL. I have known Kayla for about 11 years and I absolutely adore her. Cody surprised her with a beautiful ring and proposal at Cade’s Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park last year. He had her setup her camera on a timer like they were going to take a picture of themselves, and then he popped the question.
In Kayla’s words: Cody and I had a very modern way of meeting. We were Facebook friends for years when finally in January 2016 Cody started “poking me” trying to get my attention. That then led to countless facebook messages and then finally, texting and phone calls. Our first date was at Chili’s. Cody was so nervous and drank about 17 sweet teas while I did all of the talking. After only a few dates I was certain that he was the one for me.
Only 6 months later we took our first out of state trip together to Tennessee for a week. On July 24th we set out to go to Cade’s Cove. I grew up spending time in Tennessee so that was a place I wanted us to go together. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.
Off to Tennessee we went. During one of our days there, he seemed nervous and anxious. He kept telling me to find a trail that we could walk on. When I turned down this one road that I knew had a great trail, he told me that it was too crowded. He then told me just to pull the car up and we parked on the side of the road.
Cody asked me to grab my camera and tripod so that we could take a picture with the mountains in the background. I had Cody stand in a good spot. Next, I messed with the camera settings and timer so that we could get a good shot of the two of us. He was rushing me the whole time. Finally, I hit the button and took off running in front of the camera. about the second picture Cody got down on one knee and opened a box that had my dream ring in it. Then he asked me if I would marry him. I was so nervous that I had to hold on to his hands to keep from shaking.
I’m so blessed to have the pictures that captured this moment. We will be getting married on November 11, 2017 in Parrish, Florida at the Rafter J Ranch Barn. I hop
.jpg "Tampa Engagement Photography in Hillsborough River State Park")
.jpg "Tampa Engagement Photography in Hillsborough River State Park")
.jpg "Tampa Engagement Photography in Hillsborough River State Park")
.jpg "Tampa Engagement Photography in Hillsborough River State Park")