Jess and Mike are getting married! We are having a blast planning their big day with them for June of next year, and we’re excited to share this fun engagement session with you!
Jess and Mike met during their freshmen year at NC State and their love has stood the test of time…through college, a move down south after graduation, and Mike’s growing football career.
We asked them a few questions about their engagement and the planning process so far, so be sure to check out their answers below!
Also, a huge thank you to Michael Moss Photography for spending the day with Jess and Mike and taking these amazing photos in downtown Raleigh, at the NC State Fair, and on the beautiful NC State campus.
Just love them 🙂
Taking pictures at the Wolfpack Stadium was a must!
They also had tons of fun at the State Fair!
How did Mike propose?
Mike and I had been planning for months to drive up to Raleigh the weekend of June 14 so Mike would have his truck in North Carolina for the next few weeks (they had a few weeks of vacation planned within driving distance from Raleigh coming up). Mike had told me on the Wednesday/Thursday before that a reporter wanted to do an interview with him for a NC State Alumni magazine. He told me that the article would talk about his first year in the NFL and how he had acclimated, etc. Mike kept playing dumb when I was asking when the interview would take place; he kept saying he was waiting to hear back from the reporter. Saturday morning came along and Mike told me that since they found out he would be in town they wanted to do a cover story with a photo shoot at the PNC building in downtown Raleigh that night. He told me they wanted to interview me as well to get my insight (which I had done before and thought it made total sense). In order to get me to dress up (and shower- she almost refused to do that!) he had my mom say they had dinner reservations at a nice restaurant nearby the PNC building.
We arrived at the PNC building with a photographer waiting in the lobby. Mike chose a photographer who shoots at NC State sporting events so I was even more “sold” that this was a real interview. They went up to a room on the 28th floor and the photographer began taking pictures of Mike with a football on the balcony. The photographer left the room saying he was going to call the reporter to see where he was. Mike then took me outside to the balcony that was overlooking the entire city of Raleigh and got down on one knee. Mike had my family and friends waiting in the stairwell to come celebrate with after he had proposed. To make things even more romantic, he took the whole group to dinner at an Italian restaurant where they had their very first date.. AWWW!
So far, what aspect of planning the wedding has been the most enjoyable?
We really enjoyed picking out a venue because that is when our vision really came to life.
Do you have any advice for recently engaged brides to help them stay stress-free throughout the planning process?
Not to sound cheesy but hire a planner :). Many people have told us how smart we were to hire one. The couples we have talked to didn’t and told us they wish they would have.
What are you most excited about for the day of the wedding?
Being able to celebrate our new beginning with all of our family and friends and have a good time.
What are three words to describe the feel of your upcoming wedding?
Elegant, glamorous, lively/fun (Mike’s pick!)
What made you decide to hire a planner?
We are an out of town couple and knew we wanted someone with expertise in the Raleigh area that would give us our dream wedding. We knew this would save us a lot of stress and make the process more fun & enjoyable rather than overwhelming.
