Danielle + Calob | Utah Engagment Session Zion National Park

I would love for you to meet Danielle + Calob. They are a perfect match for each other! I have known Danielle for a couple years and every time I am around her, JOY radiates from her!! So, when your best friend's sister gets engaged, you HAVE to take her engagement photos! The only problem was, Danielle and Calob lived in Utah. My friend and I got this crazy idea to head out on a road trip and meet them half way in Zion National Park for photos. Best crazy idea EVER! Not only did we have a blast on our girl's trip, but I was able to meet the infamous Calob and capture some precious moments between the two! I LOVED getting to see them snuggle up to one another and just have fun together! We did not have much time inside of the park, and the light in the canyon was limited, so we scurried out of the park just before sunset and pulled off on the side of the road at a random patch of dead grass....and those ended up being my favorites!

If you have never been to Zion National Park and have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!! It is gorgeous and I would have loved to spend an entire day or two there hiking around and exploring. They even have campsites there! We truly live in such a beautiful country and I really enjoyed my first trip into Utah!

One of my favorite things to do is hear about my couples' love story....and here it is!

Funny thing is, Calob and I met last July because our best friends at the time were dating. Calob has lived here in Salt Lake his whole life.....me on the other hand has moved over 30 times in my lifetime:-) My mother calls me and my sisters wild gypsies because we don't have a place we call home. When I first saw Calob, it was at church and he was sitting in the back row. I turned to my friend and told her "I will date that guy eventually." Calob and I saw each other a few times when we would either both be with our friends and so we would all go either play tennis, go to the gym, go to the batting cages, etc. Calob says that when we went to the batting cages that's when he became more interested because I was wearing Jordan basketball shorts and he knew I was athletic.

So we meet in July, but it isn't until October that he finally asks me on a date. We went on our first date October 2nd, 2015 to Leatherby's which is a delicious dessert place. I was so nervous because Calob was so quiet and the whole time I waited for Calob to pick me up I kept running thoughts through my mind on what we would even say to each other. It actually ended up being just fine. It was a double date so that made it a little easier, but we were able to talk and have a fun time. I then asked him on a group date the following week where we went down to a bonfire. He was so sweet to me because I had just finished a race and so he let me stretch my legs in the car across his lap so they didn't cramp up. He was so sweet and gentle and my heart just melted around him. We spent so much time together after that. We went to a corn maze, a planetarium, a restaurant where he caught shrimp in his mouth. We spent nights doing homework, playing softball, and cooking together. He even wore a Peter Pan costume to my family get together for Halloween:-) That's when I knew he really liked me! I remember Thanksgiving time coming and I had a trip planned to Arizona to visit my oldest sister Nicole. I was gone for a week and that was a pure example of how I never wanted to leave him again. I was so used to being with him every night that it was a shock to not see him for that long!

We now have made trips to Arizona and Idaho together. We have spent countless hours talking and strengthening our relationship and deepening our love for each other. One of my favorite things is all of the holiday activities we have done together. We have decorated stockings, made gingerbread houses, been to a corn maze, went to see Christmas lights. We have spent time with both of our families which is an important thing because we are both so close to our parents and siblings. I love to watch him play softball. We are both very athletic so we spend lots of time outside or working out together. We still have so much to learn, but each day we grow closer together. It takes a lot of work and we will face things down the road that will be hard, but I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

Both of my love languages are quality time and touch and this beautiful relationship is one I have never experienced before. It is real, genuine, kind, understanding and we would do anything for each other. Love is a beautiful unconditional thing where the feelings are indescribable. For a long time, I never thought I would find such a thing. Doubt, regret, fear was always there, and Calob wipes all of those insecurities away. I am so thankful for that and for him.