Otts Exotic Plants greenhouse engagement-Stefani & Kevin
March 4, 2020This is Stef and Kevin, two freaking cutie pies who had such a fun session at Otts Exotic plants this November! They met while in school at East Stroudsburg University. It might seem like a no brainer as to why they wanted to be surrounded by tropical plants for their engagement session, since they hit it off while attending a “lab” portion of their class while in Costa Rica!
These two spent the week running around the rain forest together and have been together ever since! Six years to be exact!
When I first met these two, I could tell just how sweet they both were, they both went in for big hugs and were just such genuine people! Kevin says his favorite thing about Stef is, “her amazing and open heart. Her kindness is shared with everyone, even random people on the street. She is beyond caring. She is also extremely humble about all of her amazing abilities and talents. Her love and support fuels me through life. ”
As I stated above, these two met while doing school work in Costa Rica. Stef says they picked Ott’s exotic plants as their location because, “The rain forest is our favorite place, and in a way the origin of our meeting. We have a ton of house plants and just really love them. Kevin works with trees and I am a biologist and we had thought about an engagement shoot outside. However, we don’t really like the cold dryness that came with November.”
The entire time throughout their session, these two were laughing and smiling. Even when I made Kevin power through the cold outside for a hot second. It was so worth it though!
Stef says her favorite thing about Kevin is, “his ability to make things that might not seem very significant, some of the most memorable experiences of my life. He is spontaneous, yet absolutely loves creating traditions. He has been such a huge support in my life and is always great at pushing me to see my potential. Did I mention that he also makes me laugh!? ”
Hiking and traveling and going on adventures are these two’s favorite things to do together. So it’s pretty fitting that they got engaged while basically doing all three of those things! Going to Shenandoah National Park with one of their close friends was a tradition they had started and did every year. This particular year was a little different though. Their friend was unable to go because his dog was sick and he wasn’t able to make it on the trip. Kevin and Stef decided to still go on the trip anyway, even though they were bummed he wasn’t tagging along.
Every other year, they hike “Mary’s Rock” and it immediately started raining this time they hiked it. “We laughed a little because it wouldn’t be Shenandoah without the rain and continue on. Due to the poor conditions, we only passed one or two hikers that day, but we were having a great time.” , Stef states. As they make it to the top, Stef stands with their dog Timber as Kevin sets up their go pro and camera to get some photos of them together! (I think you see where this is going)
“So there I am standing on the rock with Timber by my side, and Kevin comes walking over. I wave my hand at him indicating that he should hurry because of the camera timer, once close enough to me he looks at me and drops down on one knee, says his planned out line with his voice shaking. It was silly, two weeks prior to this, I told Amanda (one of my best friends) that I didn’t think Kevin was ever going to propose. I threw my hands up and covered my surprise when he proposed and then threw my head back and laughed, proclaiming “NO!” as in no way is this possibly happening and he is the one doing it. I had zero idea. Not a damn clue that he was carrying a ring up that entire mountain. He was, and is, horrible at secrets. He can’t tell a lie without laughing. I couldn’t believe that he kept this a secret and I didn’t find out. Anyway, I quickly said yes and he replied with “Are you sure?”….continued laughing…….what a goof!”
These two are getting married on the first day of summer at an amazing farm on lake Wallenpaupack. Stef says they’re most excited, ” to spend an especially amazing day with each other and our family and friends. We have been such reliable and loyal friends to each other. It will be so special to make this commitment. We can’t wait for the first look, the ceremony, and all the dancing. Did we mention there is a stream and our dog will be in the wedding? Life is good.”