Sandy and Kevin | Hiwasse, Virginia Campground Engagement Session
I absolutely love when couples have an idea for a location for their engagement session, especially when it holds sentimental value. I don’t think a location could get any more sentimental than this! Cassandra and Kevin met while working at Camp Ottari in Hiwasse, Virginia, and have now been together for 6 years! Camp life was a big part of their summers (and relationship!) for years, so they wanted to go back out to Camp Ottari for their engagement session.
Camp Ottari is absolutely stunning! It’s up in the mountains with beautiful forests and trails, along with a picturesque lake at the bottom of camp. First, we headed to the Onion Ring. The Onion Ring is an amphitheater over looking the lake, and one of Cassandra’s favorite places to sit and take in the beautiful view. They shared with me some of their camp stories while walking over, including Kevin mentioning how it’s almost always faster to drive to the hospital than waiting for an ambulance! Kevin also shared how the first time he was ever stung by a bee was in the Onion Ring. If this was a movie, you couldn’t have written this foreshadowing better.
Right before we left the Onion Ring, Cassandra got stung by a yellow jacket! I was so worried, but she took it like a champ and insisted we keep going with photos. We walked around to the other side of the lake by the docks, which I was so excited for! The beautiful lake was completely framed by rolling mountains, all covered in lush forests. Cassandra really wanted the lakefront view of the mountains, and I couldn’t agree more that it’s just a breathtaking sight! A few minutes into these photos, Kevin mentioned that Cassandra was starting to get really red. Cassandra has had some problems with mysterious allergies, and Kevin was right on top of checking on her. We quickly walked back to their car for their stash of Benadryl, and to take a quick break. Not 10 minutes later, Kevin was speeding Cassandra to the hospital!!
It was incredibly scary and quite a close call, but thank the lord that Cassandra was OK!! I met back up with them at the hospital, and even after this terrifying experience, Cassandra was all smiles and joking of the past times this has happened in discovery of a new allergy. Kevin was right by her side, taking care of calling the parents and friends. They both couldn’t help but call out Cassandra’s AMAZING foundation, which was STILL right in place and covering up all the red from the reaction! I’m just so impressed by others who can laugh in the face of just about anything. It was just so inspiring watching them together, and how they still could have such a good time with each other no matter what. Cassandra even pulled out her phone for a photo op, so she could add it to her collection of allergy mishaps!
Of course, this was not the perfect ending to an engagement session!! Anyone would be disappointed in this situation, especially when we all drove out so far. Though disappointed, they joked about how this will be a really funny story in a year or two, and that they were thankful that we got the photos at the Onion Ring and Lake that they wanted. They were even nice enough to let me write about this!! Although it’s not a perfect ending, I’m so happy for the two of them and the love that they share. Kevin was so focused on Cassandra and making sure she was OK, along with getting her to the hospital so quickly! That kind of care and devotion just gives me butterflies. Keep an eye out in the fall (when there are less bugs!) for part two of their engagement session!
