Desiree + Jason at Sweet Arrow Lake

How they Met

In 2012 I had to leave my career as a hairdresser because I needed health insurance and got a job at Walmart DC. In 2013, Jason just returned home from Philadelphia after graduating from Film school and going through a tough breakup and he got a job at the DC. For a while we just went to work and did our jobs, unhappy people doing what we had to do to make money. After months of working together in a fast paced, stressful job and never noticing one another, one day we kept ending up at the same spots throughout the day, we had no choice but to finally notice each other. From then on it was like an invisible magnet would draw us toward each other. I thought he was the most gorgeous person I'd ever seen and I couldn't help but stare whenever he was around. One day he actually came up to me and asked me if I was enjoying the show! We would make small talk sometimes until one day he actually asked me for my phone number. I couldn't imagine what someone looking like him would want with someone like me so I was skeptical but eventually gave it to him. We texted once in a while and eventually we made a date to meet at Locust Lake on May 5, 2014. We spent the entire day there with each other, as if we were the only 2 people left in the world. We hung out once in a while for the next year, sometimes we were on and sometimes we were off. We were both recently out of bad breakups, and hesitant to get into something new, but I knew first that I wanted more. I knew there was a side of himself that he was keeping from me and I needed to get to it. There was one hard day that was the turning point of our relationship today. What could have been the end was the most beautiful beginning and we decided to be serious with each other. It took over a year for us to figure it out but when Jason finally moved in with me in 2015, we knew we were the best of friends and had found something special. We had a lot of fun over the next few years making a game and a competition out of everything we did and we also went through some really hard times, each time helping each other through.

~Desiree

The Proposal

We would take weekend trips and travel all over to play disc golf at new courses, we loved hotel trips, and watching pro disc golf tournaments, every Halloween we would go to many different haunted attractions and we love to visit breweries and drink craft beer and eat yummy food. In 2019 we went to Delaware on a beach vacation with his siblings and their families. On July 14 2019 on the way home we stopped at a disc golf course we once watched the pros play a tournament at. We played, neither of us did really well but on hole 17 Jason got quiet. I watched him slowly go to his knees and I got dizzy and I couldn't see and I couldn't stop crying. I just kept saying "what are you doing? Is this real? Are you joking?" And he proposed. The ring was beautiful even though it didn't fit but I refused to let him exchange it because it wouldn't be that same ring. The ring he hid from me in his bag all vacation, the ring he picked out knowing that I would love it, the ring that sat in his sweaty pocket those first nervous 16 holes. Just the thought of that proposal being on his mind that hole time blows my mind.

I should mention that on the day he proposed the course took us over 2 hours to play because we were playing so bad. It was a long and difficult hike and we were so tired that I actually suggested we end the round early and leave but along the way I was surrounded by butterflies at one hole and there was always something to distract me and keep us carrying on. I remember the butterflies and Jason remembers on the way home Today by the smashing pumpkins came on the radio.

~Desiree

Our Time at the Session

It is the first time shooting at Sweet Arrow Lake for myself. It was a pleasant and scenic drive. Without a doubt, this park is one of the most beautiful areas in Pennsylvania and Schuylkill County. I walked around with Alyssa (one of my epic assistants) and realized that this was a photographer's paradise. A Lake, A Trail, a Waterfall! All in one place. It is a very fitting place for an engagement session, as later this year, these two will be getting married here! Oh, and I should also mention that this was also a Maternity session! A two and one session?! What!? Oh it happened and it was beautiful.

Once Desiree + Jason arrived, we greeted in person for the first time and started to hike around the park and snapped many photos. Ever feel so comfortable around a person right away? Just good vibes all around! I love it! We did travel most of the park in a span of about 2 hours! We had so much fun getting unique and fun shots; you will see the impressive silhouettes we captured. We had tons of laughs and made sure it was a memorable experience.