We absolutely adore when couples infuse the essence of their relationship into their engagement photos. For Maureen and Thomas, they combined two of their favorite things: spending time together outdoors and books. “We both enjoy outdoor adventures, but we are also both super book nerds,” Maureen says. “We actually have a small library in our guest room, and we literally have a catalogue of the over 1000 books we own.”
In the woodland oasis of the Great Smoky Mountains, Maureen and Thomas brought Erin Morrison Photography along to capture their candid, adventurous engagement session that ended with the soonlyweds taking a quiet moment along a river to read two of their favorite books. “We wanted our engagement photo shoot to subtly reflect and complement the style of the wedding we have envisioned,” Maureen says. “The woods seemed like the most natural and perfect location, and the Smokies seemed like the most obvious choice, as I grew up spending my weekends in the national park with my family.”
The Love Story
Maureen and Thomas first met during their junior year of college. Maureen’s friend Chelsey was intent on setting her up with one of her roommates, so she invited Maureen over to her apartment one night. But that plan didn’t exactly pan out after she met Thomas. “I had heard Mo’s name more than a few times before I ever saw her, but after we met, I had to ask her out,” Thomas says. After plans for a coffee date fell through, they decided to meet up for dinner. “It sounds incredibly cheesy, but the night of our first date ended with a walk on the beach, and we just talked,” Thomas says. “Everything felt so easy — we just clicked. We were best friends before we knew what had happened, and the last four years together have flown by.”
After graduating from college, Maureen and Thomas had to spend one long year apart as Thomas moved to Austin and Maureen moved to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to work as a fisheries observer on commercial fishing vessels. “We had been together for a little over a year at this point and had a solid foundation, but we spent all but two weeks of the entire year apart,” Maureen says. “Needless to say, when my contract was up. we were both more than ready to settle somewhere and start figuring out life together.”
The Proposal
“Thom had already almost bought an engagement ring in Teaxas, but it hadn’t all panned out,” Maureen says. “We both knew that we were each others future, and I had been dropping hints as had his family — not that he needed it! As it turned out he was probably being more picky than I would have been had I picked out the ring myself.” After working in Alaska, Maureen landed a job in North Carolina, and not long after they moved there, Thomas came upon the perfect ring. “I had been researching rings for quite a while when I finally decided to take one of my lunch breaks to visit a nearby jewelry store,” he says. “I was taken through lessons about diamonds and their properties when eventually we got to look at settings. I was immediately drawn to one designer and put in an order that day.”
Only a few weeks later, Thomas got the call that the ring was ready. “I picked up the ring the following Monday, and couldn’t wait to give it to her,” Thomas says. “I had always imagined that I would have some elaborate plan, and I’m sure Mo probably would rather I had, but when I got home, I couldn’t wait any longer and proposed as soon as I got in the door.”
Submitted via Matchology
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