Queenie and Jason love to hike, and they chose to have a Hamilton waterfall engagement session – What a gorgeous backdrop for photos that reflect them as a couple.
Now, when I say they like to hike, I don’t just mean an after brunch stroll… No sir-ee — Check out their totally hardcore (yet totally adorable) hiking outfits! (Later on in the post.)
They also brought a balloon that was on-theme with their wedding colours and a change of clothes for a different look.
We had tonnes of fun exploring together!
I won’t say too much about these two since they have put together an INCREDIBLE narrative about their love story. Read it at the bottom of the post!
And here is their love story, written by Jason!
It was warm that spring day, but early in the season so that a chill of snow and winter still remained underneath. The automotive shop that Jason owned and operated hummed with machinery and the ebb and flow of customers. It seemed a Wednesday afternoon just like any other until he got the call that would change his life, though he wouldn’t know that until much later.
“Aaaapex Automotive, Jason here,” he answered with a drawled and drawn out ‘A’ as he was wont to do.
“Hi Jason,” said a softspoken voice on the other end. “I’d like to book an appointment for service?”
As fate would have it, the first appointment of the morning on that very Friday was open.
“Okay, I’ll take it. My name is Queenie.”
Jason paused. “Come again? Queenie you said?”
“Yes, that’s QUEENIE,” she said, quick to spell it out for him.
Long after the call ended, that name stuck out to Jason on what was an otherwise ordinary day. What kind of person bore that regal title? Or perhaps it was selfappointed, he thought with a laugh. Friday came soon enough and with it the opportunity to discover for himself the woman behind the name.
9 a.m. sharp, an immaculate white hatchback Subaru Impreza with personalized Studio Ghibli plates rolled up to the shop. Morning cup of coffee quickly cooling and forgotten, Jason was further intrigued by the beautiful woman who stepped out of the car. The two strangers in all but name exchanged greetings and Jason got to work.
The way to a mechanic’s heart must surely be through the condition of their vehicle, because as Jason noted how clean Queenie’s car was, the signs of regular maintenance, and the artisan vinyl and lego toys on the dash and the Studio Ghibli soot sprite dangling from the rearview mirror, he was smitten. As a rule though, Jason never dated his customers, no matter how cute they happened to be.
While Jason prepared her invoice, Queenie in turn was impressed with the speed of service having barely sipped at her complimentary coffee or gotten past the first few pages of ads in her magazine. She paid the bill and pledged to be a repeat customer. Jason looked forward to seeing her again in 5000km or at the three month mark that was more likely to come first.
Queenie came back in a month and a half. Turns out she really racked up the kilometres in her commute to work as a pharmacist. Jason joked that Queenie was actually driving around in circles to accumulate the kms to come see him. Over the next few visits, each one building with anticipation, they got to know each other better and bonded over their mutual love of anime.
The final nudge by fate, by then late winter, was when Queenie mentioned to Jason her upcoming snowboarding trip. Though she was a highly educated professional and he a blue collar grease monkey, Jason was beginning to suspect that she was perfect for him. And that she was worth breaking rules for.
No sooner had Queenie finished talking about snowboarding, Jason, in all his suave casanovaness, blurted out, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No,” Queenie said after a moment of silence, surprise at the abrupt change in subject clear on her face.
“Do you want to get a drink sometime?”
There was no hesitation this time. “Yes!”
A year later, Jason proposed to Queenie in France.
And that was how the magic happened.