Erin & Manning

Gerard of Hynesite Photography sent along this relaxed, beautiful engagement shoot that took place at the share house where the newly engaged couple Erin & Manning met! I love the idea of engagements at home, especially because I’m such a homebody!

This is the way the story goes “Manning and Erin met in April of 2011 when Manning replied to an online ad for a room to rent in a share house that Erin was currently living in. Manning almost didn’t make the cut for an interview, and when he was told he had secured a spot that afternoon, he almost didn’t make it – he’d been for a long bike ride up to Emerald, 60km away, and only just made it back in time.”

After a morning of interviews, Erin and her housemates made an easy decision, that Manning was the best candidate, and he moved in two weeks later.

Erin and Manning got along well, especially since they were often home together a lot.

After late nights together cooking, playing scrabble and discussing their own ideal European holidays (which they are going on together this June), Manning and Erin made the nerve-wracking and exciting decision to take their housemate relationship to the next level.

The couple feels very spoilt that in the early days of their dating, they got to spend every day together. It helped to accelerate their relationship, and create a strong bond that neither of them had ever felt before. Erin in particular always felt that if Manning could fall for her in her trackies and slippers around the house, then he truly was falling for whole deal. And it certainly didn’t detract from the special nights when they went out for dates – their first real date, Manning snuck out the back door, so he could pick Erin up out the front.”

“Since they started dating, Manning and Erin have moved in to an apartment by themselves where they continue their love of cooking, and spend time riding to cafes for brunches with family and friends.

The couple wanted to incorporate elements in the shoot that were important to them: the scrabble for the nights they spent getting to know one another; the bicycle to remind them how lucky they were that Manning even made it to the housemate interview on time; and the tulips, because for her birthday, Manning sent some to Erin at her work. That day, everyone told Erin what she already knew to be true: “He’s a keeper, don’t let him go”.

“The weekend after the shoot they moved into their own apartment!”