Ashley and Dane’s Country Farm Engagement Shoot

Brittny Drye Founder + Editor-in-Chief of Love Inc. Magazine | On-Air Wedding Expert | LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in the Wedding Industry


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If there is one couple's love story that exemplifies acts of fate, it is that of Ashley and Dane's. Everyone's true love is also their best friend, but for this gushing couple, nothing could be more literal. Taking their engagement photos on Ashley's family farm (the same place her parents took their photos), Kristilee Parish Photography stunningly captured the essence and closeness of these two soul mates, who knew they were destined to end up with one another since age 12. For Ashley, the love she shares with Dane is summed up perfectly by the poignant words of Emily Bronte: “He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

The Love Story

Thanks to fate and destiny, Ashley and Dane's meeting was written in the stars on the day that Ashley and her family moved in to a house down the street from a 12-year old Dane, who happened to be biking past the house when he first caught a glimpse of the person who would later become his true love. Dropping his bike on the front lawn, Dane asked Ashley's parents if he could help them move boxes into the house. After a few hours of exploring the new place together, the 12-year olds stumbled upon a dart board. “Naturally, I challenged him to a game and told him I was going to beat him even though I had never even thrown a dart in my life, let alone won an actual game of darts,” Ashley reminisces. “We spent the afternoon getting to know each other as he pulled my darts from the roof, the carpet and pretty much every other surface in the basement other than the dartboard.” After seven years of keeping one another in the “friend zone,” Ashley and Dane finally commenced a romantic relationship and were engaged on a gorgeous day in June of 2013. “Even though Dane and I were inseparable best friends — and only friends for many years — we always talked, laughed and joked around about our ‘one-day marriage.' Throughout our years of friendship, we dated other people but always had a hunch that one day we would end up together.”

“It is intimidating meeting the person you want to spend the rest of your life with at the age of 12, so I think it was a great thing that we waited and took our time to grow, mature and be 100 percent ready to settle down before we jumped into our romantic relationship with both feet. I have heard people say that love is just friendship set on fire, and that is exactly what happened with us. We were soul mates as best friends, and over time, it eventually turned into soul mates on a whole other level.”

The Proposal

On that beautiful day in late July, Dane told Ashley that he wanted to drive her out to a “special” place he frequented when he was younger. “It was a beautifully secluded place, located behind a tree line which overlooked the North Saskatchewan River and fields upon fields of farmland. The sun was setting, the river shimmered and, in that moment, all I could think of was how much I loved the man standing next to me,” Ashley tells us. Sitting at the special spot with blankets and glasses of red wine for more than two hours, the couple talked about everything they could possibly think of. “We talked about our five-year plan, what we wanted to do tomorrow, what we wanted to name our ‘one-day dog,' where we wanted to move to and a million other topics. It was absolutely perfect and I was clueless as to what was going to happen next.”

Upon relaying a dream she had about Dane the night before in which he proposed to her in a canola field, he then confessed he had a present for Ashley … only it was sans canola field. Dane got down on one knee, opened the tiny black box and asked Ashley if she would make him the happiest man in the whole world by being his wife. “My first reaction was to cover my face. Then, I thought ‘Oh crap, look at the guy! Look. At. The. Guy!' So, I uncovered my face and just wept. It was the closest thing to a real-life fairytale that I could ever imagine. It was the most exhilarating, amazing day of my life thus far and I cannot wait until we are married and I get to call him my husband.”

The Ring

“My wedding ring is very intricate, unique and beautiful. It is a multi-stone vintage style ring that is classic, yet bold. It is made from platinum, nickel-free white gold, and it has a one-carat center diamond with 60 smaller diamonds surrounding it. My wedding band is made from platinum, nickel-free white gold as well and is a very slim style. The entire band is made from the same small diamonds that are on my wedding ring.”

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Wedding Date: July 25, 2015

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