Melanie and Jake are getting married! We met together for their Kimball Art Museum engagement photos, and I loved hearing all about their love story and wedding plans. I seriously think that’s my favorite part of engagement sessions. Melanie and Jake got engaged in the spring of this year and their love story goes back a few years after they met during Melanie’s sophomore year since Jake needed a date for his fraternity’s formal. After that, they were fast friends and remained so throughout college. Throughout their years of friendship, Melanie began to realize Jake had a crush on her – but she wanted to stay just friends.

Their Love Story & Proposal

As her senior year began, she realized they were much more than friends. It took until a month after her graduation for him to ask her officially to be his girlfriend, but it was just perfect! They began to date (officially!!) and started a 3 year long long-distance relationship. They traveled between Stephenville and Fort Worth as often as they could. But, they made it work! And in May 2021, Jake proposed to Melanie during a “surprise” date night.

While they were sailing on Lake Grapevine, they enjoyed a beautiful night together. As they were getting ready to enjoy dessert, the captain of the boat brought out a fancy board with their treats on it. He made a point to tell Melanie to use her napkin (which she thought was strange), and when she picked up her napkin, the board was engraved with “Mr. and Mrs. Bledsoe”. At that point, it all clicked and Jake got down on one knee! He asked Melanie to marry him – and she obviously said “YES!”.

Kimball Art Museum Engagement Photos

To celebrate their engagement, we met up at the Kimball Art Museum. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite spots in Dallas! It’s got such beautiful gardens and places to explore. Not to mention, around sunset, it’s truly stunning! Melanie and Jake were just wonderful together, enjoying the time to soak in all of the excitement around their big day. I loved watching them be together while we explored. They’re clearly natural together – and definitely meant to be! I can’t wait for you to see their gorgeous photos, so get scrolling!!

See another Kimball Art Museum engagement session here!