A Morning Engagement In Greenwich Village

David & Ashley

We met up with David and Ashley (and Ollie) for a wonderful stroll around the West Village for their engagement session earlier this week. It was a hot one but these two cuddled close together throughout the session. We started off at Jefferson Market Gardens, the place where David proposed to Ashley. It was a quant little garden, very peaceful and as I sat there for a few minutes before they arrived, I almost forgot I was in the middle of the city. Afterwards, we walked around the nearby streets before stopping at Washington Square Park, and then over to Washington Mews. And finally, we finished the session with some Champagne at White Oak Tavern. Despite the heat,

Q: How’d the proposal happen?

Dave and I got engaged on 8/5/22, otherwise known as the hottest day of the year, in Jefferson Market Garden (West Village, NYC). We had never been inside the garden before, but he knew I didn’t want any “sneaky” photos taken during the proposal and just wanted a private moment between us. On our walk to the garden from our apartment, Dave spoke about how we first met in college and the moments that led us to that day in August. The sun was beating on us while we were crossing 6th Avenue and I felt a ping in my stomach like OMG it’s happening and I could see Dave looked a bit nervous and was clearly overheating as well.

Once we got to the garden, we found the only open park bench, of course right in the sun. Dave then proposed sharing sweet sentiments about our relationship (including “I can’t wait to be with you forever… in AC”) and we took a few photos of us with our dog. Someone who works at the garden came by to tell us that the park was closing and Dave shouted out “we’re engaged!”. She was first person we told. It was very sweet. That’s also when I learned that Dave had only 10 minutes to propose because the park closed at 6. From there we stopped home quickly to drop off Ollie before heading to what I suspected was a dinner reservation for either just us or us and our parents.

We walked into the restaurant White Oak Tavern and I was surprised to see our family and friends who travelled from all over to be there. We spent the rest of the night celebrating. Our engagement was one of the best days of our lives and I’m often times jealous of couples who aren’t engaged yet and will get to live that moment for the first time. The joy and excitement and love… I can’t wait to have our friends and family in the same room at our wedding again. There’s nothing more special. Dave had the ring for a month and I had no idea but I was suspicious the week leading up to the proposal. He decided the Sunday before that he was proposing on Friday and from then on I was suspicious based on a few comments here and there.

Dave had said he was going to plan a surprise date night for us and a few days later mentioned we were going to walk our dog at 5:30pm before heading to the surprise. The planned walk was the biggest give away that something was up – it’s typically a rush of who’s going to walk Ollie quickly before we head out the door – never an organized planned moment.

Q: What’s the best part about being engaged?

Our favorite part is that we are taking the next step together. We’ve appreciated each phase of our relationship. We lived together for a year and a half and that felt so right. And then the next step of getting engaged has been a whole new “honeymoon” stage to enjoy. It’s also been nice to plan our future with the confidence that we’re both all in and looking forward to the journey together.

Q: Any advice for other couples planning their wedding?

Prioritize and go with your gut! There are going to be a lot of options for vendors and add-ons. It’s important to know what you consider a “nice to have” vs. a “need”. Everyone’s preferences are different so you have to go with what’s best for you and your budget. There are going to be certain vendors and parts of the wedding that you’ll feel comfortable spending more money on than others, so prioritizing and making decisions that feel right to you will help with the planning process. Also, that way, you’ll hopefully still be happy with the decisions you’re making now by the time you get married (if you have longer engagement like us).

To David + Ashley:

We loved spending the morning with you both! Thanks for taking us around your neighborhood and just letting us shoot and flow. We had the best time with you guys, and we can’t wait until the wedding. Working hard on the rest of your photos and we really hope you love them, but until then, we’re excited to share this preview of your morning engagement in Greenwich Village.