A few weeks ago I headed to Sedona for an amazing week of shooting and during that time I had the pleasure of meeting Jason and Kaiya. This couple is everything I can ask for when photographing a couple, and their love for eachother is unimaginable. Jason popped the question at Bell Rock on a very cold morning. They hiked up at sunrise to avoid the crowds. I am so excited to photograph their East Coast wedding in 2022!
Words from Jason on how they met:
Kaiya and I had an interesting start to our journey. We went to undergrad together, and were in similar social circles. However, I am two years older than she is, and while we each knew of the other person, we never crossed paths. Several years later, we connected on a dating app (as most millennials do), and hit it off right away.
For our first date, Kaiya was on-call for her job. We decided to meet on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, at a coffee shop called Tatte. Because we couldn’t go very far, we decided to just walk up and down the street and talk. An hour turned into five, and before long, it was dark outside. We talked about everything- family, work, goals, and our thoughts on life. After five hours of time spent together, she got a duty call that required her to leave. If it wasn’t for that call, we probably would have kept walking. I had never connected with someone that strongly, or that quickly.
It’s hard to describe, but I knew from that moment that she would be in my life for a very long time. It’s hard to find someone that you connect with so easily, and that makes you feel like you can be the most authentic version of yourself. We spent the next year and a half falling in love in Boston. We tried every coffee shop we could, went on more walks than I can count, and grew so much together.
This past year, we were relocated to Phoenix for my doctoral program, which presented a lot of challenges. But the experience has brought us closer together. We have such a profound level of care and respect for each other- two qualities that mean more to me than anything. Our time in Arizona has been marked by time that has been uniquely ours. We fell in love in Boston, and we grew our love in Arizona. As we look to going back east, I want to give her the best engagement experience that I can. She truly deserves the world, and I believe that this experience will help us to round out this phase of our journey in Arizona together.
