Alexandra & Philip: Eclectic Love Story in the Tennessee Hills

I Knew It When I Met You

I get to see lots of couples in the wedding blog biz; elegant and eclectic, traditional and out of the box, DIY and over the top. But Alexandra and Philip's engagement shoot, sent over by Aura Marzouk Photography, exudes a sort of purity and true joy found with two people who were just made to be together. Shot in Tennessee's gorgeous, lush Cherokee National Forest, these two eclectic photographers and musicians would be equally at ease anywhere in the world as long as they were together. How can you tell all this just by a few shots? Look at how she holds his hand in the first image, or how gently he pushed her hair back or kisses her neck, how they make each other laugh. It is an easy love, perfectly captured....a sweet, simple love story of boy meets girl and the rest is history.



Here is how they tell it. Alexandra: We met at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, TN. We were both music education majors and spoke here and there. He was a freshman and I was a junior when we first met, but it wasn't until my senior year that we really started spending time together. At some point, we ending up spending every day together and literally together almost 24/7. We liked to always be with one another and couldn't stand being apart.





Philip: My first impression of her was that she was really attractive, smart, and funny. Alexandra was a different type of girl. She was always laughing and didn't care to be herself in a crowd. She also had a different style that initially caught my eye. I guess us both being "so different" while attending a private college in TN where most people are conservative and organized helped us realize how off the wall and spontaneous each other's personalities were.





Alexandra: My first impression of him was that I thought he was really attractive and I really liked his style. He wore different things than I had ever seen guys wear before, and he just had such a nice calmness about him. I also paid attention to the fact that he is an amazing drummer and musician, and he had such a good confidence to him without being cocky. I just knew we were both different and secure without caring what people thought about us so I just had to get to know him!



Alexandra: We dated almost 2 full years before we got engaged. He proposed on March 22nd, 2012 and our anniversary is April 30th, so one month away from being 2 years before he popped the question! He blew my mind with how he proposed to me!

Philip: I was excited to ask her to marry me. I knew it was going to completely catch her off guard, but I guess I hadn't thought any further than opening that box on my knee. After I saw her reaction, I think all the other emotions caught up to me; in a good way, of course.

Alexandra: Our proposal story is the best and I love telling it! We were in Washington DC for a Photoshop Convention, which was all about photography. The funny thing is, around December of 2011 he started telling me I was going to have the biggest surprise ever!! I thought, oh he is definitely going to propose. But as it turns out he had arranged for us to go to this convention instead. I was a little confused because I knew for a long time that we would get married and so did he. We talked about it a lot and knew without a doubt we are one another's soulmate.





Needless to say I was a little disappointed but still excited about the convention and spending time in DC. So, the day before the convention, we went to a lot of museums and exhibits and spent the day together. We got dressed up for dinner and decided to take pictures of ourselves around town before we ate. The spot in front of the Washington Monument was perfect. We just stopped in the grass, we took a few, we were in a good spot, the lighting and settings were right on. He kept going back to make sure everything was perfect with camera and lights and, then he sneakily pulled out the ring he had been hiding the whole trip in the bag with our equipment. 

He made sure we were perfectly in frame, with the monument, set the timer for 10 seconds and pulled the ring out right when the camera fired! Everything was perfect, he captured the real moment of him proposing and I was so SHOCKED!

He asked me will you marry me and I just started crying and said yes. I was so shocked because I thought it would be a little longer since he had planned the whole trip a but it was all part of his plan. He wanted to propose to me and surprise me and give me something I would never see coming. He knew I always wanted something romantic and unique and he definitely gave me that! He still says to this day he knew I would be surprised but he didn't expect that extreme of a reaction and for me to cry like I did!







 Alexandra: You know the thing that is special about us? I never wanted to get married, but Philip changed that. I have always been such an independent and headstrong girl. He opened my eyes to seeing the beauty in life and the beauty of real love. I honestly didn't really believe in love or a soulmate before him, never thought I would get it. He helped me see I deserved it.

He's my soulmate and we figured that out so early in our relationship. Really, we both were already in love before we even started dating because we spent everyday with one another before even dating and when it finally became official our love just kept growing and growing!

Philip: *Big smile* Yeah...what she said.

Alexandra and Philip are to be married April 2013 in a beautiful Hawaiian destination wedding, which you can be sure will be as unique and personality filled as the couple themselves! Thanks so much to Aura Marzouk Photography for introducing us to this couple -- it is so refreshing to see unbridled, young love, ready to take on the world and not afraid of anything! Congratulations!

Which one is your favorite image? I'm partial to the one with the clarinet, my choice of instrument when I was growing up in Tennessee! Are we connected on Facebook? Check out our awesome fan page and make sure to say hi!

What ever you do, make it awesome,