Megan + John | Married - Greater Philadelphia Wedding Photography & Videography Team

We have an absolutely adorable couple on the blog today. Megan and John got married this past August at the Tyler Arboretum and everything was a perfect extension of their personalities and love story. This incredible wedding even made it onto Artfully Wed’s blog!

Originally from Maine, Megan had moved to New Jersey to go to Rutgers to study for her Master’s degree. An avid rock climber, she searched out a climbing gym to join to help her during the difficult transition. Her first visit was not amazing and she didn’t meet anyone she could be friends with. However, the second time, there was a young man who, in her words, “there was this guy, real strong climber, and he did not hesitate to introduce himself; he was so kind, welcoming, encouraging, and overall sweet. There was something different about this guy and I wanted to see him again…. Soon! So I became a regular at the gym.”

One thing we love about Megan and John is their sense of humor. After she and John met and started to see each other more at the rock gym, Megan said that “John would do very subtle things to hint that he liked me, like setting routes in the bouldering cave that he knew I would enjoy. I too attempted subtle flirting by being nice and saying “hi.” Apparently that’s not really considered flirting and my message was not clear enough.” Finally, after a over a year of these encounters, John convinced her to go climbing with some of his friends and him in the great outdoors and their relationship went to the next level.

We absolutely have to share their proposal story, but no one is better suited to that task than Megan. Below is her account of how John sweetly popped the question!

“The proposal! I love our proposal! Let me give a brief back story: Neither one of us could decide on what we should do on our official first date. I offered that whoever could think of the best date would “win.” John asked, “Okay, but what does the winner actually win?” It was our first date so we were keeping things very clean (don’t let your mind wander). I responded, “The winner will be able to ask the other three questions with no limitations and the loser has to respond 100% honestly with no hesitation.” Well, John thought of the best date idea so he won; but he reserved his questions and decided he wanted to wait when he came up with really good questions to ask me down the road.

Now fast forward in time to the night of the proposal: It was December 27th, 2014 and John and I went to his family’s house in the Poconos. We had several weekend trips there with friends so it was nothing out of the ordinary. I went to the bathroom and came out complaining about how the lock on the bathroom door wasn’t locking. No one responded to my concerns regarding the lock so I kind of peeked out into the kitchen and no one was there. I started yelling out John and our friends names and still no one responded. (I thought for sure they were playing a trick on me and were going to scare me). I slowly stepped out from the bathroom and into the living room where John was standing, alone, in front of the fireplace. He said, “Come over here.” So I walked over thinking, “awe he wants to snuggle, yay!” He said, “Do you remember on our first date, I won three questions that I could you at anytime with no restrictions?” I said, “yessss,” thinking he was going to ask me something silly and inappropriate. He said, “Well, I finally thought of one question that I’ve been wanting to ask you,” and he proceeded to get down on one knee and pulled out the ring box.

I started shaking and crying out of sheer shock and excitement! Obviously I said, “yes!” We are thankful that our friends there were hiding outside taking pictures of the whole proposal.”

Fast forward to August, and we arrived at a lush Tyler Arboretum to photograph all the incredible details Megan and John had in store for their guests at their reception. There were lawn games that they had handmade for their friends to enjoy throughout the evening. Megan had shared her love of orchids with everyone by making them the centerpieces for the tables. Their love of good craft beer was shown by the real hops they included in her bouquet as well as his boutonniere and the garlands they had hanging. They dedicated their cake topper to their three amazing dogs, one with angel wings. Their mutual love for climbing was also on display for all to see with a bride and groom scaling the side of their cake, Megan’s carabiner earring and using carabiners in photographs. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful, and their personality and deep deep love for one another was evident in absolutely everything. It was a supreme pleasure getting to spend the day with these two, and we were ecstatic when Artfully Wed chose their wedding to be featured a few weeks ago. You can see their feature here!

How did you or are you planning to showcase your personality in your wedding? Leave us a comment with something you would love or are already planning to do!