A couple weeks ago I spent the afternoon with Beth & Kyle for their Valley Forge engagement session right outside Philadelphia. They had such a sweet proposal story I just HAD to share! Beth & Kyle share their story and how she fell in love with the National Memorial arch in Valley Forge Park.
Beth: “I first remember the arch as a little girl in the car on the way somewhere with my parents. I remember seeing a wedding party taking pictures at this arch and fell in love with it at that moment. Fast forward several years later, I was beginning to pick up running and looking for new places to log my miles. Valley Forge was close to home and provided a paved and safe place to run. This is when I rediscovered the arch and my love for it. That arch got me through many trying miles and times wanting to give up, but I needed to stay the course and make it to ‘my arch.'”
Kyle: “Beth, as many of you know, loves to run. She would go out and run an absurd distance and when she would return she would tell me how hard it was, but that it got easier around the National Memorial Arch because it was so beautiful. After being told a number of times how gorgeous and stunning the Arch was, I filed that information away for a later date. Cut to February 8, 2015. Beth had run 2 half marathons and was training for a third. With the race a short two weeks away, she wanted to do her last long run: 12 miles around Valley Forge. I’ll run with you, I told her, but not the whole way because I’m not crazy. We can run to the Arch you’ve told me so much about. Now all I had to do was run three miles with a ring in my sock (don’t worry I wore high socks). If I could do that, the proposal would be the easy part. The Arch was finally in view and I knew that I could never go back. I also knew that I never wanted to. We got to about 75 feet away when I slowed down but Beth didn’t stop. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked. ‘I always run to the middle,’ she explained as if it were obvious. I followed her to the exact center of the Arch, the spot where I’d ask the most important question of my life. ‘Will you marry me?’
Beth had to settle for only 11 miles that day, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to tolerate!!
These photos are so beautiful! Thank you for capturing such a special time in my sister’s life so perfectly. She and Kyle are so in love and have so much fun together and it’s so obvious in these photos! I can’t wait to see the magic that you make on their wedding day! xoxo