There is a special bond that forms between roommates. In college I lived in a house affectionately known as “Hartford House” for my last two years of school with 5 other girls. Each of us is unique in our own way, but each a perfect fit for our house dynamic. After college, we spread out as far as Italy and as close as Atlanta, however not even oceans could weaken the bond that is Hartford! We reunited 2 summers ago for 2 of our roommates’ weddings and haven’t all been together since… until now! This past weekend, Amanda, who currently lives in Houston, got engaged to the love of her life, Blake. He proposed in Houston, they had a party that night, and Amanda said “the only thing that could have made it better was if Hartford were there.”

Little did she know, Blake had been coordinating with us for months to all reunite in Athens and surprise Amanda on Saturday morning. We hadn’t met him yet since they live so far away, but just with hearing these plans he was good in our book! They flew into Atlanta, drove to Athens and arrived at AOPi (our sorority where all of Hartford met) where I surprised her to “take their engagement photos.” After a few photos in front of the AOPI house, the rest of our roommates jumped out of the door for the grand reveal and lots of tears and joy.

As a photographer, I’m rarely in the photos, but a huge thanks to Blake (another point in the book for Blake!) for snapping some when I passed my camera off to join in the celebration! After the surprise, we ate lunch and went home to decorations, treats and more. Here are some of my favorite moments from the morning! I can’t wait to share Amanda & Blake’s (actual) engagement session later!