Mckenzie & Nate “go back years” as they say. High school sweethearts turned long term relationship! They shared with us how being together for over eight years has brought them lots of ever changing love, learning, and continued commitment to one another. McKenzie told us that she’s “most excited about FINALLY being married!” And to celebrate their engagement and upcoming wedding, we got together for some beautiful, flower-filled engagement photos at Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso, Indiana.

They go back years.

Before we even meet with our couples to discuss their wedding day we find that it is super important to get to know them on a more meaningful level. We value our relationships with clients over everything else–we want to get to know you more and truly become friends for life. So, one of the first things we do when chatting over email is send our couples a questionnaire. This is full of fun questions that share more about how you met, how you got engaged, etc. These are some of McKenzie & Nate’s answers.

McKenzie told us, “Nate and I go back years. We are high school sweethearts! I was a freshman and he was a sophomore we decided to go to homecoming together and the rest has been history.” We find that we are drawn to high school sweethearts; we do a lot of weddings for couples who have been together for many years. And we find that these love stories really showcase how ever changing and impactful meaningful relationships can be. That’s not to say that they don’t come with hardships. McKenzie went on, “Nate and I have had our fair share of difficulties with family relationships but ultimately that has brought us closer together, taught us the value of love, and commitment to one another.”

She was pushing for an engagement!

As for the engagement, McKenzie joked that she may or may not have been pushing for it, haha! She shared, “We celebrated our 8 years on May 25th, 2021. Nate and I decided earlier in the year that we wanted to go on vacation around our anniversary. We went to St. Petersburg Florida and on our anniversary Nate proposed on the beach while going to watch the sunset.” How perfect?!

Leading up to the proposal Nate almost blew it twice! McKenzie had walked into their apartment and laying on my coffee table she caught a glimpse of a small bag. Any ideas what this might be? Well, Nate went running to grab and hide it. Thankfully, McKenzie was non the wiser. She also told us of a second time–“he left it on my front seat of my car after going to get it resized. I did not open the box! I told him that ‘I think I found something that I wasn’t supposed to.’ He later came and got the box and then told me it was a necklace.” As you know, it was not a necklace, it was her engagement ring, but hey, now she got two presents for their anniversary.

Stay tuned for McKenzie and Nate’s October 2022 Wedding!!

A glowing fall evening wedding is the perfect time for these two to get married. They’ll be saying their “I Do’s” at The Barn at Sioux-Monti in Idaville, Indiana. Last time we chatted they were told us about their wedding theme of rustic chic with colors burgundy, hints of dusty rose, and lots of greenery. They described the vibes of their wedding as very laid back, “kind of like a back yard wedding full of fun with family and friends.” We will be photographing their special day. We know that these two are counting the days that their family and friends can all get together while they finally say their forever vows.