Mackenzie and Connor are college sweethearts! They met each other at FSU due to mutual friends but it wasn’t until senior year that they hit it off!  Since they were in the same circle, they were able to get to know each other as friends while they attended social events together. Everything from football games to sorority functions they spent together as “friends.”

One thing Mackenzie and Connor laugh about is the “timeline” of their relationship. They first started “talking” during the Fall of their senior year but they didn’t “officially” start dating until the end of March when Connor took Mackenzie to breakfast and asked her to be his girlfriend! Mackenzie told us, “I had been waiting and waiting for him to finally ask me to be his girlfriend. I was nervous about what our relationship was going to look like after we graduated and started our careers.”

As the oldest of four girls, bringing a boy home is a pretty big deal and Mackenzie knew it would come with the typical 20 questions from her parents and sisters. Because of this, she hadn’t really told her family that things were serious with Connor. July 4th weekend was the first time Conner came home to meet Mackenzie’s family. Mackenzie thought to herself…”okay, this whole long-distance thing has been going pretty well so far. If my family likes him, I’ll tell them we’re officially dating and no one will even know the difference!” Well, at some point during dinner, Connor calls Mackenzie his “girlfriend” and immediately all of Mackenzie’s family turn to her with a “…what the heck?!?!” expressions on their faces. To this day, they all laugh about that first introduction. And it will forever make them giggle when people ask them how long they’ve been together…the answer depends on who you ask the question to, lol 😉

This engagement session was my last session before Florida issued a stay-at-home order! I went out the best way I could, because Kelly Rock Springs is so magical! This location has been one of my Florida bucket list locations for a long time! Whenever I would travel for an engagement session, I suggested this location to couples who were trying to decide on a location.  I was so thankful when Mackenzie and Connor told me they were up for it!

They were both so easy going and patient during their engagement session! A little behind the scenes: I photographed them mid-March, which is prime spring break time for high school students. Students were everywhere. They were swimming in the background (thanks Photoshop!), splashing around, hanging out on the rocks, and their belongings everywhere. Not a problem! Mackenzie and Connor were so patient as we waited in between swimmers and made the best of it shooting in such a chaotic location. While we waited on teenagers to move, we chatted through their wedding details and honeymoon plans. It makes my job so much easier when a couple is flexible and fully trusts me. Can’t wait for that same vibe for their wedding in December!

Side note: For anyone reading who watches the Bachelor, doesn’t Mackenzie look just like Hannah B?! There was one moment that I had to take out my iPhone and snap a picture of Mackenzie just so I could show my Bachelor super fan cousin!