the Journal

I'm Sarah Leying: friend of God, photographer of marriage & family, and hopeless romantic. On this journal, I share my recent work, experiences, and personal journey with Jesus, art, heritage, and learning to capturing the nuance of Love and life in still photographs.

Welcome, and I hope you stay a while.

Merritt’s Pasture Engagement Photos

Grace is one of my best friends. The very first day we talked, we FaceTimed for seven. Hours. (I can’t make this up, y’all.) Because of our God-given friendship, I’ve also had the privilege of seeing her relationship with Ethan unfold from beginning until now, and last month, I captured their engagement photos at Merritt’s Pasture. (I couldn’t love these photos more if I tried.)

Fun fact: these two’s first date was a picnic with the same heirloom basket you see in these photos. Grace is also a photographer herself, so you better believe that their outfits were *chef’s kiss* perfect! (And G + E’s engagement photos just might have made Merritt’s Pasture my new favorite nature location in Chapel Hill . . . but you didn’t hear it from me.)

Picnic inspired engagement photos

When I got home from this shoot, I remember looking at Grace and Ethan’s photos and thinking, “Whoa. My job is literally to see the love of Christ play out between two people.”

Because Grace & Ethan’s relationship is every bit as romantic as it looks. But more than that, it’s also incredibly Christ centered, sacrificial, and loving in a way that’s full of, well, grace. From Grace calling me and telling me “Sarah, he brought me bagels. Bagels!” to Ethan first telling me, “I’m going to marry her”, there has always been such an eternal quality to their love.

Engagement photo at Merritt's Pasture

 

Grace and Ethan, you are a joy and it’s such a blessing to get to capture your marriage. I can’t wait for you to experience forever together, and I can’t wait for your big day in August at the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral!

Hop on over to Instagram to see more photos of G+E’s Merritt’s Pasture engagement photos!