Amanda + Josh’s Urban Parking Garage Engagement Session Part One

A love story with pizza, donuts, and scooters.

Amanda vividly remembers the drive-through saguaro cacti, rocky soil, and bermuda grass to a neighboring cul de sac with her stepmom to go swimming. She was eleven, and even though some of the details of her memories are blurred and faded at the edges, she still remembers the first time she met her person.

It was a summer barbecue, thrown by her stepmom's college bestie and the godson she helped her good friend birth nearly 13 years before. Like all good summer barbecues, it was filled with hotdogs, pool floats, and a whirl of excitement. Plus the super cute, albeit at that time slightly awkward, godson she'd grown up hearing about. That boy was Josh.

Growing up, Amanda remembered hearing about her stepmom Elva's godson Josh a lot. But he always felt like a distant relative the same way you've probably heard your mom talk about her second cousin Janice whom you've never met. And while Josh and Amanda weren't related in any way, she'd grown up hearing stories of the boy Elva helped deliver who lived just a hop, skip, and a jump away from her.

It was that blistering hot Arizona summer day with sticky barbecue fingers and a game of pool hoops between preteen kids that Amanda remembers to a T. Because unbeknownst to her, it was a chance encounter with a boy named forever staring right back in her eyes.

"Josh doesn't remember this at all," Amanda laughs, "but I would think of him from time to time despite not really knowing him well."

Years would pass, and that fateful summer barbecue would become a distant memory for Amanda. Even years later, she recalls looking him up on Facebook and thinking, "eh, he's not my type." Fast-forward to her 29th birthday, and after a few rounds of wine at Postino, her stepmom Elva pulled up his Instagram.

"WOW," she thought, a little buzzed. "He is so very cute." Initiating the Instagram-courting ritual, they followed each other and started playing the "like" game. After sliding into his DM's and making a few not-so-subtle moves, Josh finally asked her out to Barrio Queen to celebrate her birthday as a first date.

"We amped up our date by telling each other we were having a taco eating competition… We basically talked shit all the way up to our first date." Amanda made it to 6, which she thought was rather impressive. Josh ate 12. But the real magic was the instant laughter and conversation they had that night. Both of them could tell it would be their last first date.

"I didn't want to get my hopes up, but after kissing him in the parking garage at the end of our date, I just knew. I knew he was my person."

Josh, the ever-romantic and honest person that he is, sent her a text right after telling her he loved the way he felt while with her and that he couldn't wait to experience more of it. Pretty much #couplegoals.

Ever since, it's been dream-like for Amanda and Josh. Nothing could've gone smoother from meeting Josh's son, Cooper, to instantly becoming his "Manda" to weekend getaways to their favorite beach in California, Laguna. Their love is filled with laughs, motivating each other, and eating all the things. The energy from their taco contest has transformed into an ongoing mission to find the best donuts and ice cream in every place they visit. Pretty much the only things they disagree on are pickles and mustard.

"Yuck," Amanda will cringe, "Hate them both. He likes them, so it works out well."

The fun of their relationship is just the beginning, though. Admiring each other's strength, compassionate hearts, and mutual love for Cooper, Amanda and Josh have created a foundation for a long and happy life.

I had met Amanda through my personal trainer Deanna, and when I saw the news on Instagram that Josh had popped the question, I was over the moon. My brain instantly started plotting engagement shoot locations and ideas.

Amanda and Josh opted for two engagement sessions. They wanted one that highlighted Josh's son Cooper that showcased their fun personalities and a second more wild and intimate look between just the two of them. After a couple of back and forth emails of deliberation, we decided to tell the James story with four-year-old Cooper in tow back where they sealed the deal–on the top of a parking garage.

Cooper melted my heart the instant that I met him with a great big hug.

Cooper loved riding around on scooters with his dad and “my MANDA” as he affectionately refers to Amanda.

As an OrangeTheory Fitness Coach, Josh is big on exercise and it’s something him and Amanda both bond over. They share tips and tricks and talk about their muscles and it’s definitely rubbed off on little Cooper who is all about that life! Every opportunity Cooper got to flex and show off his muscles with his dad and Amanda he readily accepted.