This fearless couple and their photographer, Amanda Moss, braved Hurricane Florence’s winds and rains in Charlotte, NC to go through with this pre-planned engagement session. Not even Mother Nature could keep this photo shoot from happening. Mimi and Brandon both serve their communities and countries for work and wouldn’t have been able to reschedule their session–so their commitment was serious, almost as serious as their love for one another.
Although they knew they would go through with their shoot, they had no idea of the location. It was raining pretty hard at times, and an outdoor shoot was unlikely. Moss received permission to take their photos inside The Omni Hotel, where the couple booked their honeymoon suite.
We absolutely love their unique love story. Mimi tells her story with heart!
How they met:
Her words: My aunt called me one day while I was out working in the yard. She asked me to not get mad and told me that she had given my number to someone whom she has known for a long time. She warned that he was a very nice, respectable man and I was a sweet girl and we may be a good fit. She said that she would stay out of it and if it works then great..if not that’s fine, too, but she really felt that I should talk to him/meet him and give it a chance. I was single and in prayer with God about truly finding the mate that he had for me. Brandon was recently divorced, single, cautiously open to a new relationship but not looking.
How he proposed:
He actually proposed twice! The first time he proposed, but with no ring…the second time he had a ring.
The first proposal occurred one evening when we were going to have dinner. I was ravenous, but there was a crazy long wait when he called to make dinner reservations. He could see that I was frustrated, so to get my mind off of the wait (he is good at that) he asked me to show him “that little chapel downtown” that I talked about getting married in. We went down there and walked around the grounds. It was somewhat romantic because we could see the downtown city lights from the church grounds. He then got down on one knee and proposed. I didn’t really know if he was serious or joking because he didn’t have a ring. Either way…I said yes! We then went to dinner.
About six weeks later we were at church one Sunday and after service, he asked me to go up to the altar with him. I thought he wanted to pray together, so I followed him with no other thoughts. When we got up front, the church was still clearing out and he turned towards me and began to say all this heartfelt stuff. I was thinking to myself, “Babe, we can have this convo at the back of the church instead of at the altar.” He then began to go down on one knee and pull out a ring box. I and the other churchgoers finally realized that he was proposing. Everyone started to get quiet and whisper and I began to cry. Everyone clapped, hugged and congratulated us. The preacher then congratulated us and prayed over us. It was awesome. He is my answered prayer.
Event Venue: Omni Charlotte Hotel//Event Venue: Founders Hall//Dress Designer: Lulus//Photographer: Amanda Moss Photography