Though you might not think the gym the most romantic or picturesque place to take engagement photos, we love that Andrey Hicks and Stefany Sanchez returned to the place they first met for their session with Nichole Meredith Photography. Not only are their engagement photos perfect for fun save the date cards, they also tell Andrey and Stefany’s sweet love story.
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Andrey was working out at Fort Meade Planet Fitness when he saw her. Normally, he was too polite to bother someone during their workout, but he decided to make an exception for this beautiful girl. “I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t,” says Andrey. “I mean, what if I never saw her again? What if the world divided in two and she was on the other side? Or what if she met David Beckham the next day?” Not willing to leave their future to fate, Andrey approached Stefany. Though she refused to provide her phone number or to accept his, Andrey wore her down enough that she eventually took his email address. A few emails later, they’d set up their first date.
When the time for their first date came around, however, Andrey had to cancel. A freelance industrial designer and software developer, Andrey had received a request from a client at the last minute. He responded to the client with a price for his service he thought they’d surely balk at, but when the client agreed to pay the high sum, Andrey knew he needed to accept the job. Though Stefany was suspicious as to why he had really cancelled their date, Andrey made it up to her by using the money he’d made to upgrade their first date to a weekend trip to New York City.
One year from the day they’d met, Andrey and Stefany were in Los Angeles staying in a hotel. After dinner, Andrey brought Stefany back to their room, blind folding her outside the door and telling her he had a surprise. “Is it a puppy?” she asked. When they entered the room, a musician friend of Andrey’s, who was waiting with an acoustic guitar, started singing and playing “I Choose You” by Sara Bareilles. Once they made it to the middle of the room, Andrey removed the blindfold and got down on one knee.
For their engagement portraits, Andrey and Stefany teamed up with Nichole Meredith Photography to retell the story of how they’d met and dates they’d been on. They returned to Planet Fitness for a workout photo shoot, followed by a stroll with their dog, and a coffee date. Andrey and Stefany married on August 13, 2015 in New York City.
Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.
