Jake and Elena met at Point Loma Nazarene University during their freshman year. They had many mutual friends but didn’t truly become close until the beginning of their sophomore year. Jake & Elena would run together along Sunset Cliffs and slowly grew closer… but they swore they would never date each other. Fast forward to Spring Break that year when Jake went to Yosemite with Elena and her family for Easter. On Easter Sunday, April 2011, Jake and Elena went on another long walk through Yosemite, under the big, beautiful moon. He asked Elena to dance, they kissed under the stars, and the rest was history!

The Proposal (from Elena’s perspective): “Jake proposed after I had a long week of work. I felt tired but he really wanted me to hang out so I went to his house in Milton, FL, a house that sits on stilts off a dirt road by a river. It is out in the country and at night, you can see hundreds of stars. He had candles and rose petals in the house, leading me in a path from one love note to another. He had photos of us in Yosemite and lyrics from our song, which is the same song he sang when we danced in Yosemite. The rose petal path took me to the roof of the house, where he was waiting. The moon was out again that night. If I looked at the tree line and above, it felt like we were back in Yosemite! He had just finished his night vision goggles flights and had them with him because he had been wanting to show them to me. I tried them on and could instantly see more details and of course, more stars. He then pointed to the boat (that is normally under the house) out in the yard, on its side. He had painted “Will you marry me?” on the bottom of the boat! I looked over at him and he was down on one knee. He told me how much he loved me, asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, and gave me the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.”

Jake is in the US Navy, currently stationed in Virginia and Elena is a full-time nurse in Florida! Even though they’re hundreds of miles apart, their love could not be stronger. I was so grateful to have photographed their engagement session and cannot wait to shoot their wedding this December on Coronado Island in San Diego!