Love Stories: Danielle & Ryan

Danielle and Ryan - Professional Engagement Portrait by Chris Corrao — *Danielle & Ryan during their engagement photo session at West Chester University.*

Introducing: Love Stories! In this series, I interview couples whose engagements I have photographed. I ask them about their love story, their decision to capture their engagement with professional photography, and about their experience. First up are Danielle and Ryan. Their engagement photo session took place at West Chester University where they both proudly attended college.

Chris Corrao: Stories & Portraits (CCSP): First, can you tell me about yourself and your partner?

Danielle K. (DK): Ryan and I are both elementary educators. We live in Lancaster City, and we love the community here. On a weekend, you can usually find us going to shows or concerts, traveling, or hanging with our three cats.

CCSP: How did you first meet?

DK: We met on Match.com. Our first date was at Loxley’s Restaurant, where we met for lunch but ended up staying until dinner! I think Ryan was quiet for the first hour of our date, and I did most of the talking. But eventually, he warmed up, and we had a wonderful time. Two months later, we went to the beach together, and I knew on that trip that this was the man I was going to marry.

CCSP: What is your engagement story?

DK: Ryan took me to dinner before we went to see a show at the Fulton Theatre (which is one of our favorite things to do as a couple). We went to Aussie and the Fox (now Max’s Eatery). Unbeknownst to me at the time, he had arranged for the server to take pictures of the proposal, so I have pictures of the event. Fun fact – it was also April Fool’s day, so when he got down on one knee, I said, ‘This better not be a joke.” Luckily, he was very serious!

CCSP: Why was it important to you to have professional couple portraits taken for your engagement?

DK: We knew that we wanted to use pictures on our wedding shower invites and for our newspaper announcement, so we knew we needed high quality photos. Our engagement photos were also fantastic to have framed around our house. Also, let’s face it – everyone posts pictures on social media nowadays, so it’s nice to have something that looks awesome in online posts.

CSSP: What made you choose Chris Corrao: Stories & Portraits over other photographers in the Lancaster area?

DK: We had seen his work online through social media and knew that we wanted him to take our photos, because we liked his work. Also, after talking to him, we could see that he was a laid-back person but also very professional at the same time. It fit with our vibe.

CCSP: Do you believe hiring a professional photographer to celebrate your engagement with portraits was worth the investment?

DK: Absolutely! It was so fun to do as our first engaged couple event. And now we have beautiful pictures to look back on from that time. We had our photos taken at our alma mater, West Chester University, so not only are the pictures of us special, but they are a reminder of the wonderful years we spent at the university.

CCSP: Would you recommend Chris Corrao: Stories & Portraits to other engaged couples? Why or why not?

DK: I would definitely recommend Chris Corrao: Stories & Portraits to other engaged couples. He is professional but also fun, which is great for those couples a little more nervous to be in front of a camera. He will take the pictures you want, not the pictures he thinks you should have. But he will also make suggestions from the point of view of an artist, and because of that, you will end up with photos that you never would have thought of (but look amazing!)