One of my FAVVVVORITE places to shoot is Oak Lodge in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania! I got to go back twice in one month. It’s like a little village nestled right in the Laurel Highlands…it has just as much nostalgia as it does charm. Danielle brought her family from New York to the little piece of heaven in “the sticks”. They have been so amazing to work with ever since their engagement session which was almost two years ago! I remember them telling me they hadn’t even had a photo of themselves together until they had already been dating 2-3 years…I gasped! We needed to fix that STAT! Danielle, I think you’ll have a BUNCH more to add to your collection when you get your wedding images back! I’m so excited for you to see them!
Tell us how you met:
“We met in college — Wayne says I blew him off the first time; I was dating someone else and he was interested in one of my friends! Haha! A year later we met again in an ice bath (in the training room in college — we both had back injuries) and again in a friend’s dorm room. We started watching movies together in our free time and he’d always bring me back a peanut butter cookie from Subway when he went out with his roommate on Tuesdays after baseball practice (I hate peanut butter cookies, but the gesture was so sweet it took me a while to say anything). One night we were watching the movie Gladiator in a friend’s dorm room and one of our other friends pulled me aside and he said, “so Wayne clearly likes you,” which took me by surprise because we were friends and I was oblivious (I have a history of not picking up on these things — I’ve always been “one of the guys”). In any case it was the first time I really thought about Wayne as more than a friend. He didn’t really make a move the rest of that semester, but we talked constantly over the summer and that fall in pre-season, he asked me out and we’ve been together ever since!”-Danielle
Tell us about the proposal:
“We frequently go hiking at a park called Harrison Hills in Natrona Heights and there’s a “red/yellow” trail that is our favorite. About 20 minutes into the trail there’s this high bench that overlooks the river and is always beautiful, no matter what time of year — we always stop here on our hikes and take a moment to just be together. The day Wayne proposed (a Tuesday after work lol) we went for a hike and he told me he had a surprise. He made me close my eyes and he fidgeted for a bit, I opened my eyes and he had little votive candles on the bench and pulled out a bottle of “Pittsburgh Red” a wine his mom had told me about for ages that she likes. I thought that was my surprise (it’s been difficult for us to find that particular wine) and was super excited until I remembered alcohol consumption in public is illegal and we’d seen a ranger at the very beginning of our hike! I panicked for a minute, but he told me to calm down, chugged his glass (haha) and said, “you know I want to spend everyday for the rest of my life with you–well maybe those days should start today” and he got down on one knee, pulled out a box and said, “Danielle Renee Gilliam, will you marry me?” I just remember hugging him (kissing too lol) for ages and finally him saying, don’t you even want to see the ring? (I had a bit to say before hand in the general idea/information of it, he picked and bought it on his own) I of course did and we put it on and the rest is history!”- Danielle
The first look with Dad. I LOOOVE it. His excitement went clear down to his hands!! <3 <3
Who said “I love you” first?
” Wayne said it first “by accident” and then said he was “just testing it out to see what it felt like” haha! We were in his dorm room both getting ready to go back to practice after lunch and I said something smart and he said, “yeah that’s because I love you” and turned beet red. It was very funny, but I kept it together and pretended like he hadn’t said it because it was pretty early in our relationship and he was clearly embarassed. A few weeks later he said it again (this time on purpose) and it must have been true! LOL”- Danielle
Tell us 3 random things about yourselves:
Danielle:
1. I once rode a tandem bike with one of my best friends on the city wall outside of Xian, China
2. I played the violin for 14 years and still play casually from time to time
3. I still have a deep appreciation for boy bands — N*Sync and 1 Direction in particular LOL
Wayne:
1. My nickname was alltime
2. I’m actually a decent singer
3. I’m a sucker for little kids (especially little girls) and am excited to have my own!
What are some of your favorite hobbies to do together?
“We love to hike — that’s how Wayne proposed and we love anything that revolves around sports or being outdoors. We spend a lot of time with Wayne’s parents at their camp on the weekends — I LOVE to fish and Wayne loves to hunt, so we do our fair share of those as well. We also love to watch movies or shows that we’ve recorded on DVR together. We both enjoy a good beer, so we frequent breweries and restaurants that have specialty beers on tap — We try to go to Haufbrauhaus the first Wednesday of every month for their keg tapping! We’ve also made a vow to get back to skiing/snowboarding more frequently. Generally speaking, we just love being around each other and our families and being active. “- Danielle
What can’t you live without:
Danielle: Shopping, Sports, Family
Wayne: Sports, Chocolate, Friends/Family
Danielle and Wayne, your families made me feel like I was part of the family. You have amazing friends and family and it has been an honor to document your day! <3 <3
