Congratulations, Gianna and Matthew! We met with this super sweet couple at Longwood Gardens in PA. It’s one of our favorite locations, even if it is as bit of a drive! Gianna and Matthew explored the gardens with us as we heard more about their wedding planning. They’ll be tying the knot at Brigalia’s in June, and now they’re less than a year out! That’s such an exciting time for our couples and we love being able to hear about how everything is coming together. Their Longwood Gardens engagement session was the perfect time to slow down, celebrate what’s going on – and what’s ahead for Gianna and Matthew!
Longwood Gardens is absolutely stunning year round, especially because they have some great indoor options. For Gianna and Matthew’s session, we stayed mostly outdoors, though we started inside one of their greenhouses with some tropical plants. The greenery and flowers were just too pretty not to be outside! But, it is super nice to have options during a session. Longwood Gardens has a gorgeous fountain and some ponds that proved to be the perfect spot to have Gianna and Matthew cuddle up. It was so sweet watching them be together and just relax in the middle of all their wedding planning. They were both great sports about finding dreamy locations with the glowy spring light for their portraits!
Beyond this incredible location, we were also super obsessed with Gianna and Matthew’s look for their session. Gianna chose a gorgeous two-piece white dress with lots of personality. It had the prettiest lace overlay that brought some fun texture to their portraits. She chose some super fun white heels to pair with her dress. Matthew wore a suit with a pastel purple shirt, which was a great choice. You’ll see that we worked to find some pops of purple throughout the gardens, so we could match with his shirt. These two definitely rocked their outfit choices!
We’re so happy for this sweet couple and are looking forward to their June wedding day next year! Gianna and Matt are planning a wedding that is glamorous and elegant, with a touch of preppy! Enjoy looking through a few pages of their album and scrolling through their beautiful love story sprinkled between their spring Longwood Gardens engagement session!
Longwood Gardens Engagement Album
How they met
We met in August of 2020, through mutual friends, at a spontaneous get together at Matthew’s house. We became best friends the minute that we found out that we were both only children, had the same exact birthday (five years apart), and loved the same Yankee Candle (Buttercream).
Longwood Gardens Engagement Session
Their first date
Our first date took place at a Jimmy Buffet concert held at the BB&T in Camden, NJ in August of 2021. We were having so much fun laughing and singing along to the songs together. We left the concert early and decided to walk around the Camden waterfront, which is connected to the venue, and talk. Eventually, we laid down on the grass and watched the stars together for hours. Before we knew it, it was 2am and we were still out there! Star gazing became our thing after that and we would always find a park to lie down and watch the stars together.
How they knew they had found the one
We just connected right away. We have the same humor and always laugh at each other’s jokes. I knew, when I met him, that we needed to stay friends because of the way that we got along and had so much fun together on that first night. Our connection only grew stronger over time, which made me realize that he was the one because I could not imagine my life without him in it.
The proposal
On August 2, 2022, Matt asked if my mom and I wanted to go to dinner in Cape May and suggested that we take couples photos on the beach before dinner, which gave me the clue to dress up. Leading up to that night, Matt had contacted a company that sets up proposals on the beach called Engage Me, because he wanted to do something special. When we got to the beach, Matt parked the car and said that him and my mom were going to get out and look for a spot on the beach to take photos. He said that he wanted me to wait in the car so that my hair and make up didn’t get messed up. My mom knew about the proposal. Their plan was to meet the Engage Me owners and get set up before I got there. After a few minutes, my mom texted me to come out and meet them on the beach. I couldn’t see what they were doing from the car because there were a line of cars ahead of me blocking my view. As I was walking up to meet them, people that were standing around were clapping and cheering at me and I didn’t know what was going on. Once I got to the beach, I saw the entire set up and started crying. The Engage Me company set up white roses with candles in the sand leading the way to Matt. He stood next to a sign that said, “Will you marry me?” under a floral arbor and a bouquet of flowers in his hands for me with the most gorgeous sunset behind him. My mom was sitting in a beach chair by the entrance and I hugged her and then walked up to Matt. He prepared the most romantic speech and got down on one knee. After I said yes, Matt got up and spun me around in the air and everyone standing around started clapping and cheering. We had a champagne toast, then started taking photos in various places on the beach with the photographer that Matt hired. After our photoshoot, the three of us celebrated at the 410 Bank Street restaurant in Cape May. We called our closest friends and family on FaceTime and showed them the ring. Everyone was so happy and shocked because they had no idea that Matt had this planned!
One thing they love about each other
Gianna- I love Matt’s heart. His silly personality and warm presence has the ability to make me feel loved, safe, and secure each day. I am enticed by his infectious smile, radiant energy, and heart of pure gold. I love the way that he naturally blended into my family and turned my friends into his own. I love the way that I can always be myself around him no matter what. He is always supportive of me and encourages me to better myself each day. Every time that I look at him, I find myself falling more in love. He is the man of my dreams and is genuinely my best friend in the entire world. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
Matt- I love Gianna’s ability to turn any bad day or hard time into something beautiful. Her unique view of the world and her loving and nurturing energy is what makes me marvel and adore her each day. From the moment that we met, I knew our souls would forever be inextricably linked and intertwined. My family loved her before even meeting her and becoming a part of Gianna’s family felt like I had always been there all along. She makes me feel like I’ve won the lottery every day. There is nothing we can’t share or experience together. I love the fact that Gianna motivates me to continually become the best version of myself and I cannot wait to call her my wife.
All about the ring
In January of 2022, Matt and I were at the mall and we decided to stop in a jewelry store to look at rings to get an idea of what to expect when Matt decided that it was time to propose. The employee working there allowed me to try on as many as I wanted and she wrote down the information of the rings that I liked. I absolutely fell in love with one of the rings that I tried on that day. It had every detail that I could have dreamed of having in a ring. It is a round shaped diamond with a diamond band a hidden diamond halo underneath the stone. I was at a loss for words when I tried it on. Matt and I fell in love with it. It was my dream ring. I never saw another ring that compared to it or that I liked more as we continued our ring hunt after that occasion. Matt knew that ring was the one by the way that I reacted to it. He went back and got it for me in July of 2022. We still cannot believe that it was still there all of those months later. Every day I find myself admiring my ring and I feel so blessed that I get to wear the ring that we found together when we looked at rings for the very first time.
The engagement session
We chose Longwood Gardens for our engagement session. It is such a beautiful venue with so many places to take photos. The grounds are stunning no matter where you go.
For months leading up to the shoot, I could not find the perfect dress that I wanted to wear. I ordered and tried on so many dresses that were not it. One morning I felt so defeated because a dress that I ordered for the shoot came in and I didn’t like it. To relax my mind, I opened up Instagram and stumbled upon a white dress in an advertisement for Jaus. I screen shot it and sent to my mom because I thought that it was perfect. I noticed that the name of the dress was called the Gianna dress! What are the odds?! I knew that it had to be the one because that’s my name and it had all of the little features that I love- puff sleeves and 3D floral appliques. I felt like it was a wink from heaven because I found that dress on the year anniversary of the day that my father passed away. Also, it came in the mail on the same day that I said yes to my wedding dress!
Credits
Jessi Woodward from Bella Angel in Cherry Hill did Gianna’s hair and make up. A dear family friend of hers runs the salon and she hooked her up with her best hair and make up artist!
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