Outdoor Engagement Session in Downtown Memphis: Ebony + Brandon

For Ebony and Brandon Spring is when their love began to grow. They’d met while out one night in Downtown Memphis for the Memphis in May festival. They managed to strike up a conversation and eventually exchanged numbers. “It was such a simple meeting, neither of us imagined that we would be here today, planning a wedding!” Ebony shares.

The couple’s engagement session was the true embodiment of their Memphis roots. Shot in the downtown area, Ebony and Brandon braved the 40 degree weather for their beautiful shoot. Wearing both formal and casual looks the couple collaborated with their photographers, Ed and Amy Hutchinson, for a sexy and fun e-session. Take a look at their outdoor engagement session in Downtown Memphis and read the rest of their love story below.

Bride-to-be: Ebony Smith
Groom-to-be: Brandon Arrindell
Wedding date: 09/24/2016

Tell us all about the proposal!
We went on a trip to Punta Cana in September. We are absolutely in love with beach vacations. By the time we left for the trip, I was so tired of expecting to get engaged that I forgot to expect it! On the last night of our stay, we decided to take a walk through a garden on the resort. There was a bridge that had lights under it so I randomly decided to stand on the bridge and profess my love for Brandon in a freestyle rap (for all of you who are wondering, I am an EXCELLENT rapper). When it was his turn to rap, he had me record it. While recording I couldn’t help but think, this rap is awful, nothing even rhymes. Then, mid verse, he gets on one knee and proposes! The entire video is me crying…which is why I haven’t shared the video with many people. My ugly face cry is quite embarrassing! I was so excited that on the way back to our room I told a random man who was walking in front of us “Mister! I am a fiance!”

What was the concept behind the engagement session?
I really wanted the session to embody who we are. We are downtowners. We live here, we eat here, we play here. Very rarely do we drive on the weekend because everything we do is within walking distance. I also wanted to come with some heat, so a formal/sexy shoot was a must. At the end, we just had a lot of fun.
Amy and Ed were great. Though they directed the shoot, it totally felt like something we would do on our own. I’m shocked that we didn’t freeze to death, it was 40 degrees that day.

What did you do on your first date?
We went to Boscos, a restaurant in Midtown, for dinner. Brandon was 2 hours late picking me up. When he called to tell me there was a bad accident on the highway and he would be late, I thought that he was trying to lie his way out of the date, so I checked the traffic reports. He was telling the truth.

What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love going to Memphis Grizzlies basketball games (that Ebony doesn’t pay attention to).

How has wedding planning been so far?
Wedding planning has been awesome. We have a great wedding planner (Andria Lewis) and she has made the entire process so easy and quite painless. Brandon couldn’t care less about the things that are important to me, and vice versa. It makes the decision making much easier.

Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day.
Dancing! Seeing our friends and family having a great time!

Vendors
Photography: Ed and Amy Hutchison
Make-up: E’Jae