cynthia + dave | a breezy and beautiful tide point engagement

Cynthia and Dave’s love story began at college (UMBC to be exact) and I love how theirs has always been a fun, easygoing and playful relationship from the start… even though Dave was commuting, they spent time together at Fancy Fridays and Dance Party Thursdays; it’s clear that these two have an amazing bond that is so easy to photograph!

How they met, in Cynthia’s words:

”Dave and I both attended UMBC when we first met; Dave was a Junior and I was a Sophomore. As a commuter, Dave spent most of his time in the student org or in the commons building waiting for classes. I had just moved into my new dorm building and I was getting to know my new hallmates (one of them being Chris, aka Dave's best man). This was the second week of school starting and our hall was really getting along and doing activities together almost every night from dressing up for Fancy Fridays to deciding on a Dance Party Thursday. Chris decided to invite Dave to join us since Dave had no plans and was waiting for traffic to die down before going home. Chris introduced Dave to the rest of the hall and I remember my first impression of Dave was that he was an easy going guy. At the time, the song for Gangnam Style was very popular so our hall wanted to spontaneously recreate the music video. We even prepped outfits, camera, accessories, and practiced the dance! Dave was now considered a friend of the entire hall so he started coming more often to hang out and we added each other on Facebook and started to chat. After a few weeks of talking and hanging out frequently, we started dating and 7 years later here we are…

Fun fact: we are still close friends with the people from Harbor Hall! Chris is now Dave's best man and two of my bridesmaids are the two girls I lived across from in Harbor Hall. We have all been friends the same amount of time Dave and I have been together. :)"

And how did Dave propose? I love their story! Here it is, in Cynthia’s words…

“I'm usually the romantic one in the relationship so I would plan little surprises for Dave. One thing I like to do is to line up plush dolls that lead to a gift. When Dave and I first started dating he got me a BOO the dog plush and soon he started giving mini BOO the dog plushies as a little gifts so we have slowly created a small collection now in addition to many other stuffed animals over the years.

The proposal itself was on Valentines Day. Dave wanted to give me my gift after dinner so I didn't think much of it. After we got home, Dave asked me if I could walk around the apartment building so he could set up something romantic to give me my Valentines day gift since he never gets to set anything up. I told Dave he has 10 mins before I come back, so he frantically starts to set up. I ended up walking around longer so Dave calls me and asks me where I went and was I coming back up. I open the door and see a line of BOO the dog plushies that lead up to our bedroom. He made it look like an audience of plushies staring at the bed. There were also other plushies and balloons surrounding a basket. Dave was nowhere to be seen when I told him he could come out. I continue to take my time turning on all the lights and petting the cats until I go into the room. I opened the card and it said "To my wife...". I can honestly say that I was in shock because I did not see it coming at all. I turned around and there Dave was on one knee with the ring. I still remember that he had this smile on his face that showed how nervous he was. And yes he was slightly awkward and he didn't have time to plan a huge proposal, but it's exactly Dave. It wouldn't be us if it wasn't quirky and sometimes doesn't work out exactly how we planned. Thinking back to the proposal it was very adorable and I'm glad that Dave did it as he did.”

One of the best parts about the Tide Point / Under Armour waterfront is the promenade, with 180 degree views of the harbor, downtown Baltimore, Fells Point and Canton… and full-length floral maxi dresses (like this one from Lulu’s) make it extra breezy and beautiful! ;)

The blue hour skies covered in clouds were the perfect shade of dusty blue to match Dave’s shirt and the blues in Cynthia’s dress, so of course we had to took advantage of the harbor water taxi stop to frame an epic silhouette!

Can. NOT. WAIT (!!!) for your wedding at Main Street Ballroom this month! Knowing your eye for detail and love for each other, being married is going to be your best look yet… ;)

xo,
Naomi