Ryan and Kristen’s Longwood Gardens proposal occurred in the summer of 2021 on their annual summer road trip. Each summer, Ryan & Kristen plan a road trip together somewhere new yet still within driving distance. This year, they planned to go to D.C. while making stops along the way.

But Ryan had something extra special up his sleeve for one of those stops.

Longwood Gardens Proposal

On their way down to D.C. from north Jersey, Ryan had planned a lunch for he and Kristen at Longwood Gardens. Or so she thought … because soon after arriving and walking around the gardens, Ryan got down on one knee and asked Kristen to be his wife!!!

(Ryan and I had conversed previously and had sent lots of maps and directions to confirm the exact time and location for the Longwood Gardens proposal. It worked out swimmingly.)

Kristen was SO surprised. Y’all, she couldn’t believe it!!! She had known the proposal was coming and had actually checked Ryan’s pockets that day, but Ryan was one step ahead. He had purchased a flat ring holder so as not to tip her off with a bulge in his pockets!!! (It was actually pretty cool … here’s the link to to the ring holder!!)

Engagement Session

After they were officially engaged and had some time to process, I took some engagement photos for them. Ryan had only wanted a few photos done after the proposal so he and Kristen could celebrate in private over lunch. As a result, we spent about 15-20 minutes taking photos. I made sure that my poses and prompts gave Ryan and Kristen space to process what just happened.

If you’re looking for a beautiful place to pop the question or to do an engagement session, I couldn’t recommend Longwood Gardens enough. All of these photos were taken within a very small radius; the rest of the gardens have so much to offer!! Check out this Longwood Gardens engagement session for a better idea of the magnitude of the park.

Photo Gallery