Alexa + Jake
A Sunset Engagement Session at Fort Steilacoom
I met Jake and Alexa after they entered our Adventure Session Giveaway and although they weren’t winners, they enjoyed getting to know us through our Facebook and Instagram lives and asked me to photograph their engagement. Jake and Alexa live in Kent, WA so for their engagement session I traveled up to Steilacoom, WA headed to a pretty famous park called Fort Steilacoom which has everything you could possibly want in a rustic engagement session location!
Arriving at Fort Steilacoom a little early, I got to walk around and explore. This place really does have it all- awesome barns sided in weathered wood, fields with purple flowers still blooming amid the tall golden grasses, pathways with sun streaming down through the branches of the trees and lots of open sky, perfect for creating those signature Kate Holt Photography glowy sunset portraits!
Jake and Alexa’s engagement story is one of my favorites, so a blog about these two would be completely remiss without a description of it.
Alexa and Jake met in high school and have been dating for years. They’ve known they are the ones for each other, and as teenagers, Alexa even sent Jake photos of the style of engagement ring she hoped he would one day give her, along with a list of “engagement must-do’s” which he kept year in and year out until he was ready to pop the question.
Jake made sure all the points of the “must-do” list were checked, even sending Alexa to get her nails done and asking her best friend to be ready with the camera for documentation.
He threw a BBQ party so that both their families could be there, and as she walked in and saw everyone there and saw Jake go down on one knee to pull the ring box from his pocket, her hand went straight to her mouth in utter shock and elated surprise as Jake choked out a teary proposal. Amid cheers and applause, Alexa tearfully said yes, and only when Jake went in for a kiss did her hand come down, showing just how successful Jake’s surprise engagement plan was!
As we strolled through the grounds of Fort Steilacoom I got to ask them a bit about their history together and couldn’t help but ask them about their adorable puppy I’d seen on Instagram that they’d recently gotten and we all laughed about how they had actually done a “Gender Reveal” photoshoot with their puppy with her best friend which turned out awesome.
Alexa is an incredibly crafty person, and has a cricket that she is putting to a lot of use for all her DIY wedding decorations and was sporting a super cute jean jacket customized with lettering spelling out “Mrs Schilling" celebrating she and Jake’s engagement.
The engagement ring that Jake had given Alexa is absolutely stunning, and though the cut was true to the example ring she’s sent him in high school, Jake had gone all-out with an upgrade and customization of a diamond-studded band adding a whole new level of sparkle to the lovely cushion-cut design.
Both Alexa and Jake were so much fun to photograph, Alexa looked absolutely stunning in her hair and makeup and we laughed as she admitted that the last time she wore makeup was probably in high school, but dang she looked good in a flowing burgundy dress, complimented by Jake’s white button-up and his signature comfy jeans.
As our shoot drew to a close, I found out that Jake had recently started a new job, working as a bouncer for Alexa’s father’s bar and he’d been up until 3am the night before and was even set to work another night shift that evening after their shoot, so mad props to Jake for crushing their engagement session even amid such a crazy work schedule!
Jake and Alexa are planning their wedding for next year at Cooper Gables Barn and I couldn’t be more excited for them!
Enjoy this small selection of highlights from this amazing shoot and be sure to drop some love for Jake and Alexa in the comments section at the bottom!
