Belle Isle and Libby Hill | Richmond, Virginia

Sweet, caring and adorable don’t even come close to describing Hannah and Tony! During their RVA engagement session, we explored two landmark locations in Richmond. Their engagement session fell on the day before their anniversary!

We started our session Belle Isle, an island in the middle of the James River in downtown Richmond. Belle Isle is a fantastic place to view wildlife in its natural habitat. Along our walk, we came across a baby turtle that was in the process of crossing a busy walking path. Hannah quickly relocated it off the trail, in a safe spot!

We ended our session at Libby Hill Park. Tony used to live in the Church Hill neighborhood, so this location came with lots of memories for the couple; date nights, hanging out with friends, and taking their pups for pack walks.

How They Met:

Hannah and Tony met through Hannah’s childhood best friend and soon to be Maid of Honor, Emily. After high school, Hannah moved out to Boulder, CO and Emily stayed in Richmond. When Hannah came home from Colorado, Emily had befriended a group of friends that Tony was included in. Over time and many hang outs with friends, they grew closer and small talk turned into deeper conversations. With a little persuasion from Emily and Tony’s soon to be best man, Carl, they became official. Tony asked Hannah to be his girlfriend, in which Hannah responded… “I thought I already was..”

How He Proposed:

Hannah and Tony were living in Clearwater, Florida at the time and had driven their dogs up to Richmond to be with family, while they spent a week in Portland Oregon. On their way back to Florida, they spent two nights in Richmond. They had a cookout at Hannah’s dad’s house, which was a pretty normal thing for them to do. Hannah had no idea about the proposal so the cookout that was only supposed to just be family, quickly grew in guests as Hannah kept inviting friends over to see them since they were home for such a short time. This only made Tony’s nerves 10x worse. After everyone had arrived, Tony pulled Hannah outside to the back patio, where Hannah’s brother had already stashed the ring. Tony proposed to Hannah outside while the cookout guests watched from inside the house.

What Hannah loves most about Tony:

“I love his passion about things that are important to him, his sense of humor, and willingness to always walk through life as partners (always makes decisions about us and is never selfish).”

What Tony loves most about Hannah:

“I love how Hannah see’s the world.. from how she cares for nature, animals, and people. I love the way she keeps me grounded at my best and at my worst. I love how she cares for my family and friends as if they were her own.”