Being the adventurers we are, it should come to no surprise to most that when the holidays used to roll around, it was a time of year that Jenny and I used to travel. In fact, I would say just about every other year we would travel from Florida to the mountains for Christmas and just about every Thanksgiving we’d make the trip up to Asheville! It wasn’t that we felt some need to escape or get away from family, heck unlike a lot of people who only saw their families once a year for big holidays, we lived about 20 minutes from both of our parents so we were blessed and fortunate to spend time with them every week!
This holiday season was different for us because it was the first time we had family travel from a far to NC to see us! The holiday seasons prior to this, we traveled home to see everyone! As we approached the end of our busiest year yet, including a winter season filled with weddings and proposals, we decided instead of the stress of having to drive to FL and immediately rush back, we would just enjoy the cold Carolina winter and embrace a little bit of downtime for some self care.
After enjoying a Christmas eve morning spent sleeping in, playing with the dogs, and watching a little NFL, we decided to enjoy a little date night just the two of us! Needless to say most of our days don’t look quite like this and we truly embraced this bit of down time. With the exception of a few emails, our phones hardly made a noise all day, that is until our drive home from dinner. It just felt like a weird in between time on Christmas Eve to be getting a call from a solicitor so we decided hey let’s see who it is and soon we were talking to Enrico!
Enrico was exuberant with gratitude for us taking his call and soon explained to us why. For a while now he had been planning a special Christmas Day proposal at The Biltmore. He had it all planned out. He and his now fiancé Rachel were going to be visiting from out of town with their families. Enrico and Rachel having already visited the Biltmore earlier in the year and been on a house tour, were going to explore the beautiful grounds while their families went on a tour. This was going to be the opportunity Enrico needed to explore with Rachel and have his beautiful Christmas Proposal captured. As he explained his vision, we soon found out there was just one problem with his plan. His previous photographer had cancelled! When he asked if we would somehow possibly be available, without hesitation we both said yes! Not only are Biltmore proposals literally one of our favorite occasions to capture, but we both truly felt that this would be a special way to give a special gift on Christmas!
Once the time had finally approached on Christmas Day, Jenny and I hustled with excitement after at The Biltmore. As we made our way to the spot in front of the estate, we noticed a bunch of people whom intuition told us was their family. After quick intros, the family made their way to the top of the hill to hide out before they arrived so they could also surprise Rachel after. You could feel their excitement as this special moment drew near. Moments later we saw Enrico and Rachel approaching. Soon after Enrico was on one knee reading Rachael a letter. As he finished the letter he presented her with a beautiful engagement ring, and of course, she said yes! As their loved ones approached we couldn’t help but feel that warm and fuzzy feelings that come with the holidays. Everyone embraced them with joy as arms hugged tight and smiles spread from ear to ear!
Even now as we write this blog, it still feels surreal to have been a part of this special moment! It truly was a beautiful reminder of how much better it is to give than receive and we hope you enjoyed reliving these moments with Enrico & Rachael!
-Joe & Jenny