Charming Engagement Session at Chicago Botanic Gardens

This charming engagement session at Chicago Botanic Gardens is a stunning example of classic Chicago! Photographed by Bozena Voytko Photography, we are in love with the romance captured! 

How They Met

We met during our first year of medical school in Des Moines, Iowa. A couple of hours after moving my belongings from Chicago to Iowa, I (Nadia) went to an incoming student backyard barbecue where we met for the first time. We became best friends and were inseparable from lecture halls and libraries to restaurants and parks. No matter if we were studying or going for an evening stroll, we always felt happiness and comfort by simply being together.

The Proposal

During the Christmas break of our third year of medical school, Bryce and I were in Sedona, Arizona hiking up to Cathedral Rock. Sedona is one of Bryce’s favorite places in the world, so it was a pretty special day for both of us since I would be experiencing the Red Rocks for the first time. After a beautiful 4-mile trek through wooded trails and a climb to the top we indulged in our packed sandwiches with a view of the entire valley. There was a flat projection of the mountain that served as a great photo opportunity and slowly grew a line of hikers waiting to have their picture taken while we finished eating our lunch. Bryce insisted that we take a picture there and initially I was not fond of the idea of walking out on a seemingly very narrow rock to take a picture. However, Bryce persisted and ultimately convinced me that a picture to remember the hike was necessary. He asked a random hiker if they would mind taking a photo of us and proceeded to encourage me to walk out on the rock alone as he positioned the camera with the hiker to get “the perfect shot”. He finally walked out to the edge of the rock and as I was going to put my arm around him to take the picture, he got down on one knee and proposed. I was in complete shock and immediately began sobbing with joy.

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