After shooting some of our engagement photos at Longwood University, we headed down the road to Hampden-Sydney College. On the way over, we made a stop so Ashley could get a few shots of us in some tall grass she had her eye on, and I'm so glad we did. The light was so glowy and perfect and some of these photos just look kind of magical to me!

   

  

Next week I'll show you my favorite shots from Hampden-Sydney and then I'll be done, I promise!

(Outfit Details: My shirt is from Everlane, my jeans are these ones from Levi's, and my shoes are Converse.

Rob's wearing a tee from Eddie Bauer, J.Crew jeans, and Keds.)

See part one here.

The decision to do our engagement photos in Farmville, Virginia--the little town where Rob and I both went to college--was an easy one. This is where we met (five years ago this month!); where we became friends before falling in love.

We shot in three different locations, and the first was Longwood University, where I read and wrote every day, learned countless things about literature and life, drank cheap vodka, dated a few of the wrong guys, spent every minute and shared every dress with my roommates, and the place I called home when I first crossed paths with the man who will soon be my husband.

 Longwood means so much to me.

  

  

    

These photos were taken by Ashley Link of V.A. Photography, whom I cannot recommend enough. She is talented and creative and kind, and Rob and I are so excited to have her shoot our wedding in May. 

Stay tuned for Part Two next week!

(Outfit Details: I'm wearing a ModCloth dress and shoes c/o Jigsaw London. 

Rob's wearing a Banana Republic shirt and pants with Johnston & Murphy shoes.)

Rob and I had a weekend full of good food, cocktails, apartment decorating, IKEA, lots of episodes of House of Cards and a few skits from Portlandia, farmers' market wanderings, and an amazing Saturday evening spent on our patio with Thai takeout.

Now that there's a definitive date set for me to move in, this visit to the Twin Cities felt even more special than the other two. I packed a suitcase full of things and left almost all of them hanging in the closet or nestled in a newly-claimed drawer. I felt less like a tourist and more like I belonged, with a list of favorite places already. (Hint: one of them is the patio.)

This place is pretty amazing in the summer.