Emily + Ben’s Campbell Valley Park Engagement
Emily and Ben are architects, nature lovers, and laidback love birds. Read their story and get inspired by their Campbell Valley Park engagement photos!
Meet Emily & Ben
Emily and Ben are easygoing, super kind, and a ton of fun to be around. They work together as architect interns at the same first, and they love nature walks, runs, and hikes. And they can’t spend enough time outside! Even if it's just to sit and enjoy the view. So Campbell Valley River was a perfect place for their engagement photos.
3 Things They Can’t Live Without:
Ben
Chester
Mountains
Bikes
Emily
Our cat, Chester
Trees
Coffee
Their Perfect “Me Days”
Emily: A nap, the beach, and good food.
Ben: Video games, a forest walk, and also good food.
Fav Things About Each Other
I admire Ben's intelligence.
I admire Emily's kind heart.
The Fiancé Interview
Before every photoshoot, I send the couples I work with a little getting-to-know-you questionnaire to. It’s always so fun to read their responses and learn more about who they are individually and as a pair. Here’s what Emily and Ben had to say:
The Meet-Cute
Q: Where and when did you first meet?
A: We met on the first day of architecture school in Winnipeg at the U of M, standing in the hall waiting to interview for the same professor. We went for a beer after the interview. It was September 10th, 2015.
The First Date
Q: What did you do on your first (official) date?
A: We went to the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg and then went for breakfast at Smitty's. We went for a bike ride around the city after breakfast. (Emily told me she knew that day that Ben was the one!)
The Engagement
Q: When did you get engaged?
A: We officially got engaged on December 22nd, 2020, but unofficially? We booked the tree farm at the end of June 2020!
Q: Tell me about the proposal. Details please!
A: We drove out to Manning Park and went for a snowy walk by a beautiful river. (There was a huge snowfall the night before.) Ben got my best friend to secretly meet us there to snap some photos for us. He picked Manning Park because it was the first place where he met my family, 5 years earlier. We popped champagne in the snow and spent the night in Hope. We wandered around looking at Christmas lights that night and then sat by a pond on some swings. It was so magical!
Cool side story alert! This past January for Emily's 30th Birthday, Ben reached out to Canadian Indie band The Strumbellas, who made a special happy birthday video for her and even congratulated them on their engagement! How cool is that?! “It was the coolest thing ever and they are so nice for doing that!” Emily and Ben told me.
Emily & Ben’s Advice: Have Fun & Stay Chill
I asked Emily and Ben what they want to remember most about the two of them and their life right now, during the engagement period. They said they wanted to remember how much fun they’ve been having planning it all. And I just love this because it’s so easy to get caught up in the stress of 1 million decisions—but this is such a good reminder that your wedding planning can be SO fun. Their advice to other couples planning weddings, who want to enjoy the process, too? Stay chill, and plan ahead. (That’s a life lesson right there!)