Butterfly House Wedding in Whitehouse, Ohio

Mackenzie and Justin are both healthcare workers and began dating long-distance while Mackenzie was doing research at the NIH. Mackenzie was doing research at the NIH in DC and had gone on vacation with her friend, Kacie. For the last part of her vacation, Mackenzie spent some time in Ohio. However, during the trip, Kacie mentioned there was a good guy that she wanted to set Mackenzie up with. Kacie then gave her friend, Justin, Mackenzie’s number. Justin called Mackenzie and asked her out on a date – essentially, a blind date. They met in the Dave & Buster’s parking lot before playing games all night.

Fast forward to the pair moving to Denver together for Mackenzie’s job at the start of the pandemic. Due to their jobs and COVID, the two did not come home to Ohio much – so seeing their families and celebrating their marriage was a very big deal! Their day featured all of the special people in their lives and there was so much excitement and anticipation in the air before the ceremony began. Once the ceremony hit and these two saw each other, the rest was history! We had such a fun time capturing portraits of the pair and they spent the evening on the dance floor with friends and family.

For the proposal story, Mackenzie said, “We did three small hikes in Colorado Springs. The first hike was nice but was filled with people (and as Justin will tell you – no good spot for a picture to capture the moment). The second hike was a total flop and we cut it short. We decided to give the third hike a try since it was still early in the afternoon. We hiked along a creek and ended up at a reservoir where Justin propped up some rocks to “take a picture.” After many attempts to get the timer set just right, he proposed.”

Congrats, Mackenzie and Justin! What an incredible celebration!