inspiration

Names: Ally, 31, and Brandon, 33
Hometowns: Ally, Hamilton, and Brandon, Brantford
Occupations: Both, retail management
Together since: 2013
Engagement session: Scarlet Lens Photography at Radius Restaurant, Hamilton ON.

“We met at work. Somewhat cliché, somewhat obvious, yet nothing like either of us had ever imagined. We were both single parents, both unaware, yet completely aware of what was happening at once. We would talk for what felt like an eternity, about anything and everything we had experienced so far in life, and what we thought could become of our futures. About nothing, and everything, all at the same time. We would hang out randomly here and there after work, I would leave flowers and she would send notes so no one else would notice.

Our first real date, fittingly, was a concert. We saw Mumford and Sons during the Gentlemen of the Road tour. From that moment on we were pretty much inseparable; any excuse we had to spend time together we took–we dreamed, planned, lived, and in a short time, found ourselves at a Brad Paisley concert telling each other how in love we had fallen in just a few months.

We talked about our future almost immediately, we seemed to both complete each other in ways we never dreamed possible. Five months later, we meshed our two families and moved in together. As ridiculous as it sounds, we finish each others sentences, regularly are caught thinking the exact same thing at the same time, and for all intents and purposes, yearn for just quiet time together–re-connecting after a long week, laughing at something silly we randomly thought of, or sitting in the kitchen after a meal we cooked together while I play something for her and sing something only she’s meant to hear.

A year and a half after we started dating, I had designed a really unique ring, had asked for permission from both of our children and her father. During a family Christmas, I wrote a letter to her mom asking for her permission to propose.  Once Liam, her 8-year-old son, grabbed the ring and joined us, I asked her the question that I’d been wanting to ask from the moment I had first laid eyes on her. Her response was everything both of us had always wanted, and suddenly we found ourselves here; planning a wedding at one of our favorite places, Radius on Augusta Street in our joint (new) hometown of Hamilton.”

How do you spend time together?
“We really just love hanging out together and having fun. We love to travel or stay close to home checking out local hot spots for social activities and great food. We both love music–Brandon plays guitar and sings regularly. We have enjoyed at least a dozen concerts together including; Mumford and Sons, Pearl Jam, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Garth Brooks and more. We love to golf and have recently begun playing squash. We both love our families immensely and enjoy many of the traditions that they have passed on to us. We are active parents and enjoy passing our experiences onto our children, hoping that they can learn to value many of the things in life that we consider sacred. We both look forward to spending every minute of every day for the rest of our lives together.”

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