I loved meeting Megan and Brian and hearing about their love story! I was so hoping we would see the wild horses at the Salt River and they showed up for us even though it was a busy Saturday 🙂 It is pretty magical to take engagement photos at Coon Bluff because of the horses and the river scenery is so beautiful.
Here is their love story as told by Megan.
How they met-
“We met in my mom’s spin class. At the time I was still dancing professionally in the ballet company in San Diego. I would come home on holidays and breaks and take class. Brian always said hi and I said hi back. He was always very sweet. Eventually, I retired from the ballet company and moved back to Arizona and started nursing school. Spin class became a weekly thing. Brian and I started talking more and more. I found out that he had been a wildland (Hotshot) firefighter with Blue Ridge Hotshots. I began to realize how interesting this man really was:) As we continued to talk we realized we shared some common interests. We both loved art, music, outdoors, animals, and our families. We had both been to France. It was so fun sharing our experiences in France, and we discovered how much we both wanted to go back. There were some healthy competitions throughout spin class as well; who could ride faster, who could stand longer. Anyway, I decided Brian was someone who I wanted to get to know better despite the fact that I had said I didn’t want to date in nursing school, haha. I made the decision I was going to ask him out. One night after spin class, I was ready I was going to do it. As we were walking out together, I started to chicken out. We said our goodbyes, and then that little voice inside my head yelled at me “What the heck are you doing??!! Go get him!” I started running back to where we had parted ways…he was almost to the men’s locker room! I jump in front of him, full on Sumo wrestler style to prevent him from getting to the locker room..romantic right?! I asked him if he wanted to go get some sushi with me sometime. He said yes! As we continued to date we would always joke if were still together after I finished nursing school, we should get married. Nursing school can be challenging on a relationship:) Well… five years later here we are! I’m in nurse practitioner school, he is almost finished with the industrial design program at ASU and we are engaged:)”
How he proposed-
“2017 was the first year in 3 years that I have not worked on Christmas at the hospital. We decided to go up to see his aunt, uncle, cousin and grandma over the holiday in Flagstaff. We drove up on Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with his family. We went and saw the new Jumanji, cooked dinner together, and his younger cousin and I played cards and tracked Santa on the Santa tracker on my phone:) The next morning we woke up and had breakfast. Brian asked me if I wanted to go for a hike. I said of course. When we go to Flag to visit his aunt’s property we usually either go for a hike or out for a ride on their ATV so this was nothing out of the ordinary. We drove to Schutlz Pass and began to hike. We came to a clearing that looked out over a precipice surrounded with pine trees. Brian suddenly stops and says “I guess I should tell you the real reason I brought you out here.” For a moment I was like uhhhh the real reason what is going on??? He starts going on about how much he loves me, how lucky he feels that we found each other, how much his family loves me. He finished by saying I truly don’t picture my future without you in it, will you marry me? I was in mild shock, but of course I said YES!!!!! He then pulled out my engagement ring and put it on my hand. We went back and celebrated with his family, and then made our way back to Phoenix to celebrate with mine.”
“We had been talking about getting engaged for awhile. I told Brian I did not want a diamond ring. I think diamonds are beautiful but they just aren’t me. I also wanted a ring that I could wear to work. I see so many of my fellow nurses that can not wear their engagement rings at work because they would tear the gloves we have to wear. The ring he got me is called a wave ring. The company he bought it from uses the proceeds from the sales of their products to contribute towards ocean conservation and sea turtle preservation…two passions of mine:) It is also flat so I can and do wear it to work no problem. I adore this ring because it truly means something to me, and knowing the thought he put into it makes it that much more special.”
Look at how cute Alcide is, he is such a sweet boy! A little mountain goat in him too, he was able to hike up with us with no problem!
What are you most looking forward to for your wedding day and your marriage?
“On our wedding day I am most looking forward to marrying my best friend and partner in crime:) I am also immensely excited to see our two families and cultures( Navajo and British/American) come together in harmony. Also, I can’t wait to see our dog Alcide as our ring bearer! For our marriage, I am excited for many things but two in particular. I am excited to start a family. I can not wait to raise a family with Brian. I know he will be an incredible father, and I can’t wait to see him playing with the kids, and teaching them everything he knows. Secondly, I am excited to see what we accomplish as a couple in our careers. We both have some intense goals and a real desire to help people. Brian is very focused on reshaping design so that indigenous design has more of a seat and say at the table. I want to use my skills as a soon to be pediatric nurse practitioner to combat food insecurity in underserved communities. I know we will always support each other and challenge each other to keep those goals and make a difference in our world.”
What was your favorite part of the photo session?
“Both Brian and I loved the whole photo session. Kaci made us feel so comfortable, and we were able to be ourselves and celebrate our love story. However, the highlight for both of us was crossing the river to see the wild horses. That was just magical, and felt like a good luck omen for our engagement and future marriage:)”
I am so excited for you two to get married, you guys are going to change the world and help so many people <3 I had so much fun crossing the river to sneak up next to the beautiful horses. I also loved the view from the top of the river. Little Al just made me laugh, so good tempered and adorable!
