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Sunrise Engagement Session in Piedmont Park – Katie & Shu

Engagement

September 9, 2020

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 A child of the ocean, always seeking coastline. Film-obsessed. Organized to the Nth degree.

Hi, I'm CARRIE JOY

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Bride on the steps of the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center

Katie’s Bridal Session at the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, GA was the perfect way to end 2020. We met on what was one of the nicest December days I’ve ever experienced – with temperatures in the high sixties, it was incredibly warm & pleasant, even for a city that has […]

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Elegant engaged couple walks through Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA at sunrise

From the moment I chatted with Katie on the phone, I knew we’d get along. Her joy and love for life was contagious, and the story of how Shu surprised her with the proposal was hilarious & endearing. Come to find out, Katie & Shu were also at Emily & Austin’s wedding (still one of my favorite weddings to date!), so our connection goes back even further than I thought! You can only imagine how excited I was to spend time with these two before their Atlanta History Center & Cathedral of Christ the King wedding in January!

We met at Piedmont Park on a quiet Saturday morning just after sunrise. There’s something about sunrise that I absolutely adore. It’s typically cooler (so it’s a nice escape from the Georgia heat!), but beyond that, sunrise holds all the promise & possibility of a brand new day. Plus, we beat the crowds! Yay! Besides those out for a morning jog, we largely had the park to ourselves. And the morning light was absolutely stunning!

Capturing Katie and Shu was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Graceful and relaxed in front of the camera, they are completely adorable together. They have such a beautiful connection, which really shines in their photos together! We also incorporated their adorable puppy, Mika, in photos as well! She was just 13 weeks when we met up & oh my goodness, get ready for cuteness overload! Let’s dive in…

Engagement Session with Puppy in Piedmont Park, AtlantaEngaged Couple with the Skyline at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia

Tell me about how you met & fell in love – “Short story is that we met at a Georgia Tech football game with our mutual friends from the gym that we both go to and we all started hanging out together after that game. The long story is that our two friends kept wanting to hang out with each other but wouldn’t say it so they brought us along so that it wouldn’t just be the two of them 🙂 We started doing a bunch of ‘coupley’ activities as just friends and then decided that we were the ones who actually liked each other and the rest is history.”

Engaged Couple dancing in Piedmont Park and with puppyEngaged couple smiling at each other at Piedmont Park, AtlantaFilm Engagement Photography at Piedmont Park

Katie, what is it about Shu that you love the most? – “Honestly, from the beginning I loved everything about Shu which is what struck me about him. He was different in the way that I kept looking for things I would change about him and there was nothing I could find. The list of things I love is long but the top thing is that no matter what we are doing, when I am with him I am having the best time.”

Joyful Film Engagement Photography at Piedmont Park Joyful Engaged couple on film at Piedmont Park in Atlanta

Shu, what is it about Katie that you love the most? – “From the start, I knew that Katie and I definitely had chemistry that aligned us well in terms of personality and habits. And then I found out that we have a lot of common hobbies and share the same passion for them and that was a sign for me. She is, not only someone I can relax and be myself around, but someone I can do all of my favorite things with and know that she is having an equally great time. It truly feels like she is my other half and I love that so much about her.”

Puppy with engaged couple at Piedmont Park Joyful Engagement Photos at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA Engagement ring on film, fine art photography in Georgia Film Engagement Photography at Piedmont Park Joyful Engagement Photography in Piedmont Park

About the proposal – “We were in Savannah visiting my (Katie’s) family for Memorial Day and had a great weekend: our nephew was baptized and we were the Godparents, we saw family for the first time in a while, we kayaked and had a long beach day. My sister and brother in law said they wanted to ride around on the golf cart and get a drink since my parents were keeping the kids for a couple of hours. They all positioned it as if they had some time away from the kids so they wanted to make use of the time. I totally bought it and I never turn down going to get a drink so it wasn’t hard for them to convince me. After we got a drink at the club my sister told me she was super hot and wanted to go somewhere more “breezy”. Again, she is always hot so I didn’t think anything of this was strange. She subtly suggested one of my favorite places with a gorgeous water/marsh view on the island that my parents live on. I also didn’t think this was strange because who doesn’t always love to go look at a gorgeous view? Once we got to that spot, we were looking out at the water and Shu proposed. Afterwards, my favorite part of the night was hearing everyone else’s version of the story and realizing just how clueless I was. At one point, Shu said he looked over and saw my sister trying to climb a tree right before he proposed and my brother-in-law was just saying very loudly “Meg, come look over here!” to try to get her to stop.😂”

Film Engagement Photography at Piedmont ParkRomantic Engagement Photo on film at Piedmont Park in Atlanta Piedmont Park skyline in fog on filmJoyful couple in love in Piedmont Park

Congratulations, Katie & Shu! I’m so excited for you guys, and I can’t wait to capture your wedding at the Atlanta History Center with Tailor & Table in January!

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