The first time Dagoberto and Tara met, he didn’t remember her. Tara spotted him on the campus after meeting him at a mixer, fumbled through his name, and got no response. Of course, Dagoberto doesn’t remember any of this. :] But he does remember seeing her at a game night, noticing her, and never forgetting her again. Tara says it was because she had shaved her head, but Dagoberto gave a smile noting that it was something much more than that. From then on, it was his mission to get her to as many game nights as possible…anything to get to see more of her. And the rest is history! They got to do some of the most formative years of their lives side by side, pursuing each other and getting the privilege of growing together to love Jesus more. Years after it all started, Dag took Tara to the UVA chapel early in the morning…”to pray” together. She felt like she couldn’t say no to that and little did she know, he’d planned to propose right then and there. And now they’ve got a lifetime of yes in front of them!

During their session, I got to see the sweetness that is the two of them. Tara is hilarious and sassy and Dagoberto grins along with her asides and smiles big when she laughs. Dag so clearly loves her by the look he gets when they lock eyes. They spent the majority of our time together laughing or cherishing the time that they got to hold each other close. We walked around the same campus where they’ve lived their lives; the same campus where they fell in love. There is something a little magical about the ordinary becoming extraordinary when viewed through the lens of their relationship. Charlottesville is where they’ve gotten to call home in the same way they get to be each other’s homes and it was so wonderful to get to preserve that for them!

I can’t quite put into words how much I enjoyed my time with Dagoberto and Tara. They come from the Cru world, so there’s always an extra special connection with couples who’ve fallen in love in the same environment that David and I did. I’m so thankful we only have to wait until January to get to celebrate their wedding! Hope you enjoy their Charlottesville engagement session!

Love their laughs!

Love this!

Tara! You’ve got the best smile!

We definitely got the best of UVA :]  It was empty because of the chilly weather!

Their proposal spot!