katie + zach | a bmore licks + fells point engagement

When I first spoke to Katie and Zach, one word kept coming up in the conversation: relational. In all honesty, I’d never heard one of my couples use that word as often as they did. After learning how Zach proposed to Katie, hearing how they finish each other’s sentences, and watching them interact together as we started at Bmore Licks for their engagement session, I immediately got it…

Their upcoming wedding at Rosewood Farms is going to be quite the celebration - after you read more about these two lovebirds below, you’ll understand why!

4 reasons why these Fells Point / Patterson Park locations were so meaningful for Katie + Zach’s Baltimore engagement session:

1. Ice cream with rainbow sprinkles (Katie’s favorite ice cream topping) was part of Zach’s proposal scavenger hunt which started and ended in Fells Point…

2. Zach proposed to Katie on the same bench we ended at on Bond Street Pier in Fells Point

3. It’s their favorite way to spend a Friday night: with a walk by the water, ice cream and cuddles. But Katie also added, “as long as … our two future golden retrievers are there”. (#urbanrowpup love at its best)

4. This last fact has nothing to do with where we took their engagement photos, but has everything to do with how thoughtful Zach is. He designed and created the wooden ring box he presented to Katie WITH her Dad’s help since he is an incredible woodworker and it was something they could bond over and create together, leading up to the proposal.

Katie radiates joy and Zach described it perfectly: “When Katie smiles, she smiles so much that her eyes close shut.” I believe that they’re both incredibly relational as they highly value thoughtful, meaningful moments and gestures in their relationship and it’s apparent as soon as soon as you are around them.

In Zach’s words, how they met:

“We met early on in college at Johns Hopkins. Katie was the star point guard on the basketball team and I rode the bench on the football team (kidding, sort of). Needless to say, I definitely noticed Katie first. We were both a part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at Hopkins, and I distinctly remember telling a buddy of mine “she’s my kind of girl”. I was drawn to Katie from the very first moment.

One night while at dinner with FCA, Katie mentioned that she likes to bring a cupcake to friends for their birthdays. I jokingly (read: pleadingly) asked her if she would do the same for me. Katie, being the sweet, relational person that she is, agreed. She was pretty surprised to learn that my birthday was in fact the very next day! I think the fact that Katie actually brought me one the next day is more of a testament to the person she is than any interest she had in me at the time. Needless to say, I like to think it all started with a cupcake.

…during finals week, she let me meet up with her and walk her home from the library every night. I even surprised her with her own cupcake on her birthday. Finally, we went on a few more dates!”

In Katie’s words, how the proposal unfolded:

“Zach made the decision at the end of his third year of medical school to take a year off so that we would be in the same class and would be eligible to apply for a couples match for residency. It was since we made that decision that I knew I wanted to marry this man and he later asked me to marry him in the most perfect proposal ever: a scavenger hunt to all of our favorite places in the city.

[By the end] I was so stinking excited that all I wanted to do was finally see Zach. I was then given the last clue that sent me back down to Fells Point, to a particular park bench overlooking the harbor that Zach and I have sat and talked at many times. Only tonight, our favorite park bench was decorated with jars of lights and looked even more perfect. It was there that Zach got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and with a great big smile on my face, I said “YES”. We had a few minutes to ourselves to just soak in the moment, walking around by the water before finding our hidden photographer who had captured the whole thing. After that, Zach and I went to a nearby bar where so many of our friends, as well as Zach’s family were gathered, many of whom had traveled many hours to celebrate with us. As Zach mentioned, I am a pretty relational person so it meant so much to me that Zach incorporated not only so many of my favorite things, but also so many of our favorite people in the proposal. All I can say is that he set the bar pretty high for himself for any future anniversary or celebration.”

I have loved getting to know you both so far and admire how heartfelt your relationship is. I already have tissues ready and waiting for your wedding day because I know I’m going to be crying all the happy tears throughout the day as you become husband and wife and never have to say goodbye on a Sunday again… I can. not. wait. for your spring wedding at Rosewood Farms!!!

xo,
Naomi