There’s definitely something special about the love stories of high school sweethearts, and that’s exactly where James and Angie’s story begins- their Junior year of high school! Although they were just friends at first, James must have put a love spell on Angie because they soon fell in love! After ten years of being together, James popped the question at Harry Potter Studios in London! What an epic proposal! As unique as their love story is, their engagement photo location was too! This Santa Ana Historic District engagement was an amazing session filled with plenty of colorful backdrops, fun and laughter, and gorgeous architectural details.
James and Angie are tying the knot later this year at Newhall Mansion in Piru, California! We can’t wait for all the amazing adventures ahead for these two!
We hope you enjoy reading more about their amazing love story!
Q. How & when did you first meet? Describe your thoughts / how you felt about each other. Was it love at first sight?
A. We met in high school our sophomore year. A mutual friend introduced us to each other at a high school football game. I remember that I had a cold and was losing my voice. As James would say, “Angie sounded like a man.” It was not love at first sight though. James was at the time in a relationship with another girl. We did become good friends though. After his relationship ended, we started to develop feelings for each other. We had already been friends for some months and already spent a lot of time with each other. Feelings gradually blossomed. It was in the beginning of summer, right before junior year of high school, that we finally started dating and became boyfriend and girlfriend. We’ve been together ever since.
Q. What do you both do for work?
A. James is an electrician. I am the Operations Coordinator for KB Home LA/Ventura Division. James is an electrician. I am the Operations Coordinator for KB Home LA/Ventura Division.
Q. GROOM: What was it that made you first start liking your bride to be?
A. Her personality. She’s fun to be around and her laugh.
Q. BRIDE: What was it that made you first start liking your groom to be?
A. Once he was no longer in a relationship, and I was no longer talking to this other guy, I started seeing my best friend in a romantic way. Here I had a best friend that happened to be a very cute guy. Feelings started to develop.
Q. Tell us about your first date. What was going through your mind? Where did you go, what did you do?
A. For our first date, we went to the movies. We watched “Hellboy.” James was/is my first boyfriend. I had told my mom about him and how he had asked me out on a date. My mom had her brother, my uncle, drive us to the movies and pick us up afterward. My mom wanted my uncle to give us a ride because she wanted James to meet someone from my family, more specifically a man in my family so that James knew our relationship would be serious and so that my uncle could give his approval. My uncle, fortunately, did not try to be intimidating. My uncle though did mention to James that all he asks is that he treats me right and with respect.
Bride: I was nervous more so during the car ride with my uncle and James. James and I had already hung out many times together with our friends, so I wasn’t that nervous going on the date with him. i was nervous about him meeting my uncle and what my uncle would say to him.
Groom: I was cool, calm and collected.
Q. What makes your relationship special? Tell us some things that you both value in your time together. (example: pushing each other to new limits, love to travel, huge comic book fans, foodies, etc.) What makes your relationship unique?
A. We are both very family-oriented and enjoy going to new places to try new/different foods. We both appreciate and enjoy the country lifestyle. James’ grandfather on his father’s side has a cattle ranch near Hollister, CA. We’ve recently joined their family tradition of spending Thanksgiving with them on the ranch. There is no cell service, only wifi at the main house. We enjoy shooting clays/targets and exploring the property. We enjoy the outdoors.
We both are open to different types of music. James introduced me to alternative music when we started dating and I eventually became a fan of some of his favorite bands. Since then we started dating, we’ve been to many Vans Warped Tour shows concerts to watch our favorite bands perform.
We also enjoy going to baseball and hockey games. Lately, we’ve been going to Hockey games more, GO KINGS!
One unique thing about our relationship is that we don’t really have pet names for each other. We usually call each other by our first names, James & Angie. On occasion, through texts or in person we will call one another “love.”
Q. Tell us about your proposal story! How and where did it all unfold? Tell us, who cried first and were you surprised?
A. James and I went to London the month of June 2018 for our 10 year anniversary. We invited our friend Billy to go with us since he had been wanting to go to London too. We didn’t mind him joining us. The three of us have been friends since high school and this would be our first time going to a different continent. We had many things planned and many sights to see when we arrived in London. The one main thing we had to visit when we were in London was going to the Warner Bros Studios Tour in London. Why do you ask? I, the bride, am a big fan of the Harry Potter movies/books. I had to tour the Harry Potter studios. James knows how big of a fan I am so he decided to propose to me there. I had no idea. We had reached the portion of the tour where we were going to enter the Forbidden Forest. Billy took James cell phone and had James and I pose in front of the entrance to the forbidden forest. That is when James surprised me and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was in shock and took a step away from him and asked him if he was serious. I then started crying and said yes. We have a cute video thanks to Billy.
Q. What is one piece of advice you have for couples just beginning the wedding planning process? What have you enjoyed most about planning your wedding?
A. One piece of advice is to start early. At the very least pick a date and venue ASAP. My first choice of date for our venue was booked by the couple that toured the venue just before us on the same day. lol
And James would say that what we have enjoyed most about planning our wedding is having me, the bride, plan it. 🙂
___________________________________________________________________________________
About the Author:
Jerrick O’Connor is the owner of Three16 Photography and has 15 years of experience in the world of photography. He specializes in Weddings, Engagements, Family and Corporate photography and loves connecting small business owners with other small business owners in hopes they can benefit each other’s production. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his wife Josie, playing board games or just spending time with his many friends.
