Dexter and Colleen’s story started at a brewery bar. He ordered beers from her for months without ever asking for her number, then matched with her on Bumble and opened with “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” She let him make up for it over tacos and queso, followed by a Mario Kart rematch on her Nintendo 64. She says she won. Since their proposal came at the top of Crowders Mountain after an early-morning hike, it felt right to take their Bearwallow Mountain engagement session to a summit too.
We went up on a mild Friday in June, with temperatures in the upper 70s down in Asheville and a little cooler on the summit. Yellow wildflowers were blooming across the meadow, and the Blue Ridge rolled out in every direction. I pinned Colleen’s curls up before the walk to the top so they’d hold, and handed out mini fans and snacks once we got there. They kept their outfits simple and let the view do the talking: Colleen wore a patterned off-white and black dress with strappy sandals, and Dex wore dark jeans, a black collared shirt and his favorite “fancy sneakers.”
On the drive up, they sang the song they’d picked for their first dance. It stayed stuck in their heads the whole session, and they kept singing it to each other between shots. Dex summed it up on the way out: “That was a lot of fun!”
Colleen’s advice for other couples: give yourself plenty of time to get ready, play your favorite music on the way, and forget the camera is there. “Just spend the time connecting as a couple. Brennan will do the rest.”
