Christine and Jamie

I think you know how much I love sunsets so engagement photographs and sunsets are a pretty special combination – the light is extraordinary and makes for a beautiful backdrop to the newly engaged glow! Nicolle Versteeg Photography shares today’s shoot with us, of Christine and Jamie.

Christine kicks off their story. “Jamie and I met for the first time many years ago when we were around the ages of 15 and 16. My cousin (who is one of Jamie’s good friends) took me to a party which had a number of his friends there and Jamie and I were introduced. We then bumped into each other again at a few parties after that over the years. We were acquaintances back then and nothing eventuated. I left Perth after finishing University and traveled for 9 years and we lost touch until I returned home 3 years ago. We bumped into each other after I had returned, at a wedding when one of my cousins married one of his cousins. He was the MC at the wedding, alongside his friend and my cousin who had originally introduced us those many moons ago. He came up to me at the wedding for a chat, poured me a wine, asked me to dance and left me with a rose at the end of the night. He was a sweetheart. Our relationship developed from there.”

“We are best friends and stay true to one another. We always look on the lighter side of things – not letting it get too serious. One of the most important things in life we value is laughter. We make fun and laugh playfully at one another as well as having a similar humour and laugh together at things. We are both supportive of one another which makes our individual activities like sporting, work, family and friendship meaningful, yet also do a lot of these things together. We also have great respect for one another which is a key value in our relationship.”

“Jamie arranged a weekend away together down south in July last year. Sadly he dislocated his ankle the night before we left whilst playing indoor soccer. The morning we were due to leave for our trip was spent visiting the GP and getting X-Ray’s on his ankle. He was also given crutches to aid his mobility which he would need to take with him on our trip.

We eventually left Perth and drove down south to arrive at our destination in the late afternoon. I helped Jamie hobble up to our room and placed him on the couch with his foot up and proceeded to unpack the car and our luggage. Whilst this was going on I received a phone call from a girlfriend and we proceeded to chat away whilst I absent mindedly unpacked my bags, and then Jamie’s. I came across a bottle of champagne and a large square jewellery case in his bag whilst I was still chatting away on the phone. I popped the champagne in the fridge to cool down and put the jewellery case on the living room table thinking Jamie had brought his cuff links with him by accident and wanted to make sure they weren’t put anywhere, forgotten and lost.

Jamie hadn’t noticed the box until I got off the phone, picked up the box and begun to open it whilst asking him why he had brought his cuff links with him down south. I looked into the box to find a sparkling object in the middle of a plaque which I thought was a game of some sort. I asked him what it was and Jamie clambered to the floor, on both knees, and proceeded to tell me he wanted to ask me to marry him with it. I finally realised the sparkling thing was in fact a beautiful diamond he had arranged to be put into a plaque to present to me for our engagement. I fell to the ground, feeling sorry for him being injured and on the floor and feeling guilty about spoiling his surprise. Through fits of laughter, tears and hugs he asked me to marry him and I said yes. The spontaneity of the event has made for a special and memorable moment between the two of us.”

“We chose the river and boat as our location for our shoot because we have shared many of our favourite times together whilst out on the Perth waters together. We spend our days and any spare time we have at the beach and by the river and it is always a great source of joy and relaxation we share together and with our families. The salty smell in the air, the wind on your face and smiles and laughter we share as a result of these factors is palpable and memorable. We’re so happy to have shared this special place with Nicolle for our Engagement shoot and it has resulted in some magical photos which we couldn’t be happier with.”