Chic Chicago Engagement Session at North Ave Beach and The Rookery

Today we are excited to share this gorgeous Chicago engagement session and a fun Q&A that their photographer, Stephanie Wood Photography shared with us! If you are having a Chicago wedding and/or engagement, share your stories with us. We love to hear from real Chicago couples!

Let’s start at the beginning. How did you two first meet?

Although these two went to high school together, they were far from high school sweethearts. In Krystle's eyes, Sean was a star athlete, captain of the varsity football team, and an academic scholar while according to Sean, Krystle was a bookworm either at dance practice, gospel choir rehearsal, or in spoken word club meetings writing poetry. Let's just say they rarely crossed paths between these vastly different interests. During Sean's gap year between high school and college, he was tutoring Krystle's little brother Marcus who was still in high school. In Krystle's last year of college, they ran into each other at a NYE party in the city of Chicago. Sean was attending one downstairs and Krystle was throwing one with her friends upstairs. She went to the downstairs party and recognized Sean - the two were talking all evening. Sean recalls when Krystle asked him for his email address, and though that was very strange. Needless to say, they never looked back on that moment and have been together ever since 1-1-11.

What makes your relationship special? Tell us some things that you both value in your time together. (example: pushing each other to new limits, love to travel, huge comic book fans, foodies, etc.) What makes your relationship unique?

Everything and all the little things in between! We have done everything we can to travel as much as possible, and have visited 19 states together, 9 countries, plus the District of Columbia. We have been long-distance for the entire 12 years together! We love watching Marvel movies and challenging one another to continue to be a better person in personal and professional life.We both love our families big time and enjoy being around people!

We’re all about the bling… Tell us all about that ring!

The ring is a moment in itself!  Sean picked out the ring on his own with minimal input from Krystle. All he knew was that she wanted an oval cut and knew she is a minimalist when it comes to jewelry (and everything else). It's a perfect solitaire and she loves it so much. Krystle thought she wanted an elaborate setting and started designing it with a jeweler. She thought she was designing "the perfect ring" and then told Sean to take over the process because she wanted to be surprised. Sean worked with a jeweler and started working on a setting. Because he wanted it to be perfect for her, he proposed with the solitaire and Krystle fell in love with it as is! Needless to say, Krystle thought the ring was perfect because of its classy elegance and it's the way Sean picked it out!

How did you know your partner was the one? When did you first know this in your relationship? (these may often be the same moment, but aren’t always)

Sean knew Krystle loved to dance & watch dance performances. Krystle was home for Spring break in her last year of college so Sean wanted to take her out on a date. He purchased tickets to the Hubbard Street Dance company's show and then they went to play pool at Lucky Strike. It was romantic, fun and meant a lot to Krystle that he remembered her love of modern dance from a conversation they had 3 months prior!

Give us all the details about the proposal. How and where did it happen? Was it a surprise? What was the planning process?

What a surprise! Sean and Krystle got engaged on April 17, 2022. Sean was already going to be in town for Easter weekend as Krystle was putting together a small dinner at her house with her family. Sean was planning to propose that weekend and landed a little earlier on Friday (to avoid suspicion) so he could scope out the location with his father.  The two hung out as normal that weekend until Sunday when their lives were about to change. Krystle woke up that Sunday in planning mode, getting her house in order and preparing to cook a dish for Easter dinner. Out of nowhere, Sean suggested Krystle was very skeptical that Sean wanted to take her to the iconic Adler Planetarium right before her family's Easter dinner and kept saying, "We have Easter plans, why are we going to learn about space today of all days?" Little did she know that Sean was planning to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him!

What are you most excited about when it comes to your wedding planning?

We cannot wait for the reception to provide a great experience for our guests! We love to have a good time and are really rolling out the red (the carpet will actually be black) carpet for everyone! We just can't wait to be married to each other and are looking forward to uniting our families.

Wedding Pro’s:
Photography: Stephanie Wood Photography
Venue: The Rookery
Hairstylist: The Braid Lady
Menswear: Lord West
Gown: Utah Gowns