Miami Engagement Session Exudes Lavish Sophistication

Miami engagement session at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is sleek, sexy, and sophisticated.

Sabrina & Anwar flew to Miami for their steamy engagement session. Set before the lush greenery and elegant architecture of the Vizcaya Museum, they wanted their photos to represent their love, bond, chemistry, and strength of their relationship. Muna Coterie member, Stanlo Photography, was up for the task! Effortlessly capturing their love, each photo brings their romance to life. Planner Candice Patterson of CM Events & Design writes, “It was an extremely hot day, but the love and chemistry captured in those photos was even hotter.”

More details on their love story and photos from their Miami engagement session below!

• Couple: Anwar Isabell & Sabrina Dawson
• Occupations: Anwar is a Physician-Medical Director of Urgent Care. Sabrina is Co-Founder, Vice President, and Programs for a nonprofit, The Collective Blueprint.

Quick Facts:

• Wedding date: February 26,2023
• Wedding location: Dreams Bahia Mita, Mexico
• Location of Engagement shoot: Vizcaya Museum Miami, FL
• Date of shoot: June 27, 2022

How they met…

About 6 months before they met, Sabrina’s friend, Sarah, told her about this guy. “Sabrina, I think I know someone that would be perfect for you! He’s a little soft spoken, but seems very nice and caring. He went to Med school with Kito (her now husband), and I think you two would be a great match.” Those six months went by, and Anwar was planning on coming into town to visit Kito. Little did he know, Sarah and Kito were planning to make a love connection. But by that time, Sabrina wasn’t really interested in meeting anyone, and almost didn’t meet Anwar. With a little conjoling (and a few threats not to leave her alone with the guys the whole weekend), Sarah convinced Sabrina to come over and introduce herself.

Let’s just say, Sabrina was a bit….ICY. But on the inside, the butterflies were fluttering. She was immediately taken aback by his charm and kindness (oh, and good looks too!), but didn’t want to let him know that. Thank God for Anwar and his patience and persistence, because after a while, they began to chit chat and soon realized they had some things in common; they both lived in Washington, DC at the same time, and even went to the same church while living there! Sabrina eventually let her guard down, and eased into conversation.

From that moment, Sabrina and Anwar spent the rest of the night talking to each other. The conversation was easy, and there was an instant connection. They shared a lot of their story with each other in the span of a few hours. They were so connected, in fact, they forgot Sarah and Kito were even in the room!

And so began the story of Sabrina and Anwar.

Their first date…

Being in a long distance relationship, their first date was the first time Anwar came to visit Sabrina after their first meeting. He flew to Memphis, and they went to brunch. They spent the weekend riding scooters and walking along the Mississippi River.

The proposal…

After about two years of courting, Anwar decided he was going to propose after he realized Sabrina’s love was the love he had always been seeking. She gave him a love that broke down his walls and allowed for him to be vulnerable. It didn’t hurt that she also checked off all the boxes’!

Being a long distance couple, Anwar started visiting Sabrina in Memphis a lot more often. Unbeknownst to her, Anwar was actually coming into town to go shopping with his good friend from medical school, Kito, to find the perfect ring. He thought he had the right one, based on what he heard from Sabrina. When he went to double check with her sister to be completely sure, she informed him Sabrina had completely switched her style once she had an opportunity to try on different rings! So back to the drawing board he went. While Sabrina was excited to have Anwar coming into town more often, Anwar was sweating bullets, making sure he switched out the rings and hoping he got exactly what he thought Sabrina would like.

Planning the surprise…

On to the proposal. Being with a super detail oriented woman like Sabrina, the next challenge was to create a way to surprise her. With the distance and their demanding careers, doing this was going to be a challenge. Anwar knew she would want her family to experience this moment, and the first step was for him to call her father and ask for Sabrina’s hand in marriage. He got the blessing, and began planning a surprise engagement.

Anwar connected with Sabrina’s sister, and they hatched a plan to persuade Sabrina to come to Charlotte under the guise of celebrating her sister’s birthday. As Sabrina was walking around the corner into a private dinner room at The Bohemian Hotel, she was so excited to be able to be with her sister for this birthday dinner. Anwar was on the other side, happy, anxious, and nervous all at the same time. He wanted everything to be perfect.

As Sabrina rounded the corner, she saw some familiar faces; her nephews, the friends that introduced the couple, and her parents. Then she saw Anwar. She immediately froze, and then it clicked that this was not a birthday dinner. Anwar walked over to Sabrina, grabbed her hand, and led her to the front of the room. Down on one knee, in front of her family, Anwar proposed.

When they knew they found “the one”…

Anwar knew she was the one: ‘We were in line with each other spiritually and emotionally. She loved me more than I may have loved myself at times, and she exemplified the perfect blend of forgiveness and compassion while pushing me to be my best self and truly believing in all that I am and all I could be. I knew Sabrina was the one when I became aware that I cared about her feelings, comfort, and security more than I did my own. Me loving her without feeling obligated to do so, but out of the sheer desire to on a consistent basis was what did it for me.’

Sabrina knew he was the one: “Anwar showed me a love I never thought was possible. He saw the beauty in all that I am, and never once asked me to be less me. He embraced it all, and loved me because of it, not in spite of it. I knew Anwar was the one, when I no longer felt the need to protect myself; Anwar became my safe place to fall and land softly. He helped me to learn that being a ‘strong woman’ is also having the strength to be vulnerable and trust that another person could love and look out for me too. That other person was him.’

Their engagement session & theme…

Sabrina and Anwar flew to Miami for their engagement session. They wanted to capture pictures that represented the love, bond, chemistry, and strength of their relationship. Their photographer (Stanlo Photography), took shots that really brought those elements to life through print. It was an extremely hot day, but the love and chemistry captured in those photos was even hotter.

Favorite thing to do as a couple…

Sabrina and Anwar love the water and love to take beach vacations. Once they get married, Sabrina is moving to Chicago to be with Anwar, but when she is there visiting, they love to go on bike rides along Lake Michigan and explore the city.

Wedding planning so far…

So far so good. Their wedding planner, Candice (CM Events and Design) is also Sabrina’s line sister, and has been a major blessing in guiding the couple through the process! She has gone above and beyond to support, advise, and advocate for all the elements the bride and groom want in their special day. This is passion work for her, and it’s evident in every interaction.

What they’re looking forward to most on their wedding day…

Being able to share the love we have for each other with our family and friends!

Looking for more Miami engagement session inspiration?

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Vendors:

• Photographer: Stanlo Photography
• Videographer: Elite Media Concepts
• Make-up: Sarsha Lepeche
• Hair: Charlette Latrice Hair
• Planner: Candice Patterson of CM Events & Design
• Venue: Vizcaya Museum