To me, one of the most amazing parts about growing up is experiencing other people grow up, too.

Yes, you read that correctly – that sentence is completely redundant and obvious. I mean, hello Francesca, duh! Everyone grows up.

But seriously, how often are you going about your life and then stumble upon someone, whether in person or on social media, that you haven’t seen in awhile? It takes you by surprise, right? But then suddenly you are overwhelmed with happiness to see all of the wonderful things they are creating for their life.

That’s what happened to me when I found out that Tom and his sweetheart of a girlfriend, Ariana, were engaged. I was absolutely thrilled for them and couldn’t believe they were reaching out to me to photograph their engagement.

I’ve known Tom since about the time I was born. Our moms grew up together in the Bronx and they have been best friends since grade school. (I absolutely could’ve said elementary school here, but I feel like everyone from my mom’s generation calls it grade school so we’ll keep it at that)

You get the point thought, I’ve known Tom for a very long time.

My family, along with his, and a couple others used to go skiing every year in Vermont during that February winter break. To this day, I’m amazed that our parents would pack the car with food, strollers, diapers, board games, video games, skis, and all of us! Only to  hall us four hours north to Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont.

This year, for the first time in 14 years, all of our families got back together and planned another ski trip! This time, in the Poconos! AND I was going to be able to capture Tom + Ariana’s engagement photos while we were away. It was a WIN, WIN!

Looking through all of the photos we took together, I can’t help but be in awe of these two. Tom and Ariana met online a few years ago and now, they live together with their sweet pup, Boomer! I’m still amazed that these two endured the colder temps for their session! But to be honest, they were probably daydreaming of their wedding that’s taking place in MEXICO next year 😉

Check out some of my favorites from this wintery session down below + don’t forget to leave a comment at the bottom!!