When Mai Lan Aram and Alexander Lee went on their first date in August 2008—to watch the movie The Dark Knight—they weren’t sure their own story would have a happy ending. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, this guy talks a lot during movies,’” says Mai Lan, an engineer. Alex, a project manager, felt just the opposite. “I thought, ‘This girl doesn’t talk at all during movies,’” he says. Luckily, the two then-students at Virginia Tech got over their movie-going differences and discovered a host of other commonalities, which soon led to a relationship.
When planning his proposal, five years later, Alex opted for something intimate. “First we feasted at Fogo de Chão in DC. Afterward, we took a nice walk, and Alex got down on one knee and proposed,” says Mai Lan. For their engagement pictures, the duo opted for the same simple, romantic vibe, working with photographer Vicki Grafton to create lovely portraits that captured their happiness. They headed to Old Town Clifton to capture the beauty of fall and the changing leaves as they strolled around town. Alex and Mai Lan are set to wed at the Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg on April 26, 2014.
