KATHY JENNINGS PHOTOGRAPHY
Keegan + Jake | A House Mountain Inn Engagement Session
I met Keegan and Jake at House Mountain Inn on Sunday for a beautiful morning engagement session. Keegan and Jake live in Chesapeake with their German Shepherd, Chloe. Jake is in the Army based of VA Beach and Keegan works in the laboratory at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va. Honestly, I have the most giving couples who have dedicated their lives to serving others!
I knew Keegan when she was just a wee little girl but had never met Jake. Keegan described Jake to me in a questionnaire I sent before their session. One of the things she said was "When I met Jacob for the first time in person, we hit it off instantly! We talked as if we’d known each other for years and hadn’t missed a beat! It was like catching up with your very best friend after being apart for some time. He was such a gentleman, kind, funny, and so very handsome!" YES, YES, AND YES!!!! It is all so very true! And can we just talk about Keegan...who by the way is the spitting image of her mother.... and is the sweetest and most kind person you would ever meet!
Now listen to this proposal story!! I will have to say this is the most dramatic proposal story I have heard. You are going to see that these two are very adventurous for sure!
Keegan says, "Jacob and I got engaged in the Dominican Republic on September 21st, 2017 during Hurricane Maria. We had planned a Caribbean vacation to the Dominican but as the day of our departure approached, we were worried we weren't going to be able to go because Hurricane Maria was wreaking havoc throughout the islands. After constantly checking for updates, our flights were still on time so we decided to wing it and go on our planned vacation. We flew into the Dominican Republic in the midst of Hurricane Maria and boy was it a rough landing! The wings of the plane nearly touched the ground on both sides as it teetered to a stop. We made the drive to the hotel along the coast watching the waves crash into land. It was pouring on our first day in the Dominican and the wind was wild! We checked into the resort and decided we wanted to go exploring around the resort, despite the rain and wind. Once we settled into our room, Jake requested to change clothes and, unbeknownst to me, had slipped a small box into his pocket and carried it around while we went exploring. We made a pit stop at the hotel bar and overheard some girls talking about how they had snuck out onto the beach past the caution tape to take photos of the hurricane. The beach had been blocked off with caution tape because of the debris resulting from the ongoing Hurricane Maria and to prevent anyone from going near the water. Well, we decided we wanted to sneak past the caution tape and go onto the beach too... in the middle of a hurricane! Maybe not the best idea, but we were curious! So Jake and I snuck past the caution tape and ran out onto the beach through the palm trees towards the ocean to get a better look at Hurricane Maria. It was like nothing we had ever seen before! We were getting drenched by rain and the wind was awful but that didn’t stop us, and didn’t stop Jake from getting down on one knee asking me to marry him in the middle of it! I had no idea he was going to propose, let alone during the middle of a hurricane! We were soaked from the rain, my hair was a mess, mascara running, looking like a disaster, and yet it was the single best day of my life thus far, and Jake’s too. It was such a wonderful surprise and of course I said YES to spending the rest of my life with such a wonderful man. It is definitely a day (and adventure) we will never forget!
It was so much fun to hear more details of their story the morning of our session! Keegan and Jake, you two are just awesome and I CAN NOT wait to capture all the special moments of your day!! Enjoy some of my favorite images from their session.
