Shelley and Jake's Downtown CDA Engagement

The first time Jake saw Shelley, she caught his eye. He thought "no chance she's alone." of course, no one was with her at the time, but surely a guy would walk up at any moment. So he kept one eye on her as he browsed the farmers market downtown Coeur d'Alene. She would later make her way over to the Bouey to get a drink, and again, she was alone. Jake had a choice to make - man up and go talk to her - or leave. He decided to step out and try to talk to her, walking up and asking her if he could buy her glass of wine.

Megan and Nik's English Point Engagement

Like so many modern love stories, Megan and Nik’s journey began on Hinge. If you aren't familiar with the app, it’s a bit different than the standard "swipe right" culture—you actually have to engage with a person’s profile to connect. In this case, Nik had mentioned that he once backpacked through Europe alone.

Shavonne and Tom's Winter Engagement

They met at a friends birthday party - yes, that means it was in real life! While the friend was mutual, they did not know each other. Shavonne, who had not really had a boyfriend at that point, nor did she know how to dance (although she says she knew, she just never had danced with someone else yet), was asked to dance by one of the cute guys at the party (aka, Tom). This wasn't a high school two-step situation. They were swing dancing! So Tom swung the "cute girl" around for most of the night, but at the end he left.

Justus and Meghan's Tubbs Hill Engagement

Justus and Meghan have such a cool story. One, they are one of those really rare couples that met in person - flesh and blood - so that already separates them. The other thing is their story spans about four meetings total, and has a lot of little details that are so interesting. But really, the first time they met, it was all fairly inconsequential. Meghan was working (she was a barista at the time!) when Justus and his friends came into the store, and they had very little time to talk. That said, they both caught each others eye but were ultimately not interested - they were both in relationships.

Kevin and Abby's North Idaho Engagement

The first time they met was because Abby needed help with her car. You may think that she needed help because she is completely oblivious when it comes to cars, but she isn't - she was in mechanic school. That said, her boyfriend had a friend named Kevin who was pretty darn awesome with cars, so she face timed him. He helped her. That was it.

Stefan and Alicia's Engagement Downtown CDA

They met at a house party about ten years ago. Both of them had extremely solid first impressions, from "wow, this girl is amazing, fun, beautiful… and taken" to Alicia's first impression of Stefan being "handsome and sweet… and taken" You see, even though they both knew each other, and seemed to really get along, they were both not available when they first met. So nothing happened. In fact, they didn't talk again after that first impression for about 8 years. Through that time relationships would come and go, and things would change - but what wouldn't change would be those impressions. That one person I met a long time ago was pretty darn cool. They would see periodic updates on Facebook, but again, they wouldn't really engage.

The Blog

Brent Looyenga is a Spokane wedding photographer based IN SPOKANE WASHINGTON and Coeur d’Alene Idaho area. He loves people and specializes in wedding, engagement, family and senior photography. You can like Looyenga Photography on Facebook or follow them on Instagram.