This Murrell Park engagement session was super fun. I know reading the title…you’re probably thinking …. Carley, Dustin and Merle? Carley and Dustin are engaged and they brought their adorable pup Merle along for the session.
I had a blast with these guys…Merle is seriously photogenic. He looks so dapper in his navy bow tie. It is obvious how important this little guy is to Carley and Dustin.
Carley and Dustin are saying “I do” next year at The Grand Ivory! I am so excited. I can’t wait to document this special moment in their life!
Make sure to read below for more about Carley and Dustin’s love story! Here are some of my favorites from this Murrell Park engagement session. It’s finally starting to look like Fall!
How did you two meet?
It all started one night in the Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. Both Dustin and I had decided that we needed a night out with friends. As you can imagine, both groups ended up at the same bar, PRs. Interestingly, I did not want to go to PRs that night and was forced by my friend, Maggie to leave the bar we were at and hop over there. After a couple of turns on the dance floor, Dustin tapped me on the shoulder and simply stated, “All my friends have left, dance with me” and we have been boogying down ever since!
What was it about your significant other that first attracted you to them?
For me, it was Dustin’s smile and confidence. For him, it was my eyes, he says he saw them all the way across the dance floor.
Tell us your engagement story!
Around our two year anniversary, Dustin started talking about a weekend getaway to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. So, I began looking for dog friendly places to stay, because I am a planner and we are obsessed with our dog, Merle. He goes everywhere we go. After I had found the perfect house and sent it to Dustin, he told me that he had already found a house and that he had made a deposit. Being a planner, you can probably guess how crazy I got due to the lack of knowledge.
Fast forward to the day we are supposed to leave for our weekend away. Dustin is dragging his feet and insisted that we couldn’t arrive to Broken Bow until 6 pm in order to get the keys to our cabin. He explained that we would be staying in a back house on someone else’s cabin lot and we had to wait until they got off of work. We drove in to Broken Bow around dusk and immediately got lost. Just when our frustration levels were at a peak, we pulled up to this beautiful cabin hidden in the forest of Broken Bow.
We knocked on the door and as it opened, I saw our families standing in a semi-circle, smiling and filming us. As I begin to process that our weekend getaway would be not just us and Merle, but family too, I turn around to see Dustin on one knee. Everything faded away in that moment and I heard him say, “Will you marry me?” I don’t think I even let him finish before I said yes!
We then got to spend the weekend celebrating our engagement with our loved ones tucked away from cell phone service and the rest of the world. It turned out, letting him plan the getaway to Broken Bow worked out after all, even if I didn’t get to plan it!
What has you most excited when you think about your wedding day?
For me, it will be our first dance. We met dancing so I think it will be a true full circle special moment for us. For him, he says he is excited to see me walking down the aisle towards him.
Do you have any advice for other couples planning their wedding?
It’s COVID season…..so plan early and best of luck to you! Lol but honestly, we have found that just sitting down and talking about how we want our love to be seen by our family and closest friends on that special day have made making decisions about the wedding fairly easy.
How was your overall session experience?
We absolutely loved our engagement session. We got engaged in February and haven’t really gotten to celebrate this major milestone (thanks COVID) so this was the first time we got to be excited about our wedding and enjoy being engaged.
Share something interesting about your significant other!
Dustin loves to learn. He is constantly googling and researching topics. He is always telling me fun facts about tv shows, podcasts, and movies. Unsolved Murders, Mysteries, and Comedies are his favorite.
Carley has seen The Office at least 10 times all the way through (she even placed in the top 5 at a trivia night of over 100 people for The Office) and can probably quote it word for word by now.
I hope you love this Murrell Park engagement session as much as I do! Planning your own engagement session and need inspiration? Check out this blog!
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