central Florida engagement photographer

We can’t wait for Sara and Jimmy’s wedding this spring at the Danville B&B! Also excited to work again with a couple of our favorites – Courtney Ford Event Design and Julie from Lowe and Behold Floral Design 🙂

On Thanksgiving Day in 2012, Jimmy and Sara were both at Skydive DeLand for the annual dinner in the packing hangar. Sara was with her family when she spotted Jimmy across the hangar, taste-testing the smoked turkey he’d brought. They didn’t meet then, not until several days later when they both happened to be attending a concert in downtown DeLand at Cafe DaVinci. Sara recognized Jimmy from the Thanksgiving dinner and decided to introduce herself. After speaking for a few minutes, they found they had many mutual acquaintances (including Sara’s parents!).

While Sara grew up spending weekends at her mother’s drop zone, Skydive Palatka, she had no interest in skydiving until years later, choosing instead to study music in high school and college. Jimmy, on the other hand, earned his private pilot’s license when he was 17 and later moved from Maryland to Florida to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is where he discovered skydiving. It was at Embry-Riddle that Jimmy met Sara’s dad (who also works in the aviation industry), nearly a decade before Jimmy and Sara met. In that time, Jimmy also met and got to know Sara’s stepfather, who was one of Skydive DeLand’s jump pilots.

After their first date (dinner at Oudom’s in downtown DeLand), for their second date Jimmy offered to fly the two of them to Jacksonville for dinner. After an eventful flight (it was an unusually foggy night, which led to a very exciting landing!), they both knew this relationship was something special. Aviation has continued to be an important part of their lives, as they both enjoy skydiving and both of their families are in some way connected to the aviation industry. Since the DeLand Airport is where they first crossed paths, it’s an especially meaningful location to them.?