I am so excited to announce the winners of the engagement contest – Dana Flocco and Anthony Morrison! Dana and Anthony’s story was submitted by Dana’s best friend Nadia. And while the story itself is fantastic, what I found to be just as heartwarming is how happy Nadia is for her friend, it’s a love story all around! As winners they will receive an on-location engagement photo session as well as a $50 gift certificate to the yummy Nicholas restaurant in South Philly. We hope to schedule their photo session for sometime this fall so stay tuned for the pictures on the blog!

Here’s the story Nadia submitted and a picture of Dana and Anthony…I can’t wait to photograph these two!

“I am submitting this story on behalf of two of my favorite people, Dana Flocco and Anthony Morrison. Their picture is attached. They were recently engaged in Aruba on August 10, 2009. As soon as I saw a promo for the contest I knew that I had to enter their story. I often think about how their relationship has evolved over a short (or long) period of time—depending on how you look at it. Each time I do, I smile and am reminded about how love really does find its way.

Dana and I were friends for a long time before she met Anthony…the first time. She and Anthony dated during our senior year of high school in 1996. She actually took Anthony to our senior prom. As the story usually goes with young love and lust at that age, they went their separate ways before college started that fall. Fast forward to January 2009 when she and Anthony reconnected…via Facebook. Over the past 13 years, both Dana and Anthony have had their separate romances—long ones, short ones, memorable ones, and ones they’d like to forget. Dana had even moved to California for a few years for a change of scenery. As fate and the workings of the magical World Wide Web would have it, Dana and Anthony befriended one another on Facebook and a spark (which no one even knew existed) was rekindled. They found a connection so strong that everyone around them could feel. They texted, they IMed, they facebooked, and even actually spoke on the phone over a few short months. Anthony would make impromptu trips to LA to surprise Dana or fly her back to Philly. Dana had been considering a move back home and once her relationship with Anthony had bloomed it made all the more sense. By the end of March 2009, Dana was back home. Even though some people wondered if the flame would fade once Dana and Anthony lived in the same place and the allure of a long distance romance was gone, their relationship continued to grow.

I like to consider Dana as my other half. (I suppose if I get married someday I’d have to make her one-third, but I digress.) I know when she’s happy, sad, annoyed, confused, scared, ecstatic, and all the other emotions in-between. As far as her relationship with Anthony goes, I just knew. I could tell in her voice, her mannerisms, her look, her smile that this was a happy and fulfilled Dana—something that I and her family and friends have always wished for her, but hadn’t seen in a long time.

You might consider it a quick engagement. Or you might consider it an engagement that was 13 years in the making and just needed some time to let love to finds its way.

I couldn’t be happier for Dana and Anthony. I couldn’t be more hopeful about love.”

To top it all off, not long after submitting the story Nadia got engaged in Paris!! So congrats to all of you!

We’re partnering together to offer a $50 Nicholas gift card in addition to the portrait session to one lucky couple – a total value of $300 – and extending the contest deadline to September 30, 2009.  Wouldn’t it be fun to celebrate your love with some super cool photos, then grab a bottle of your favorite wine and head to Nicholas for dinner? The winning couple will receive the following:

- 2 hour location shoot within 35 miles of Philadelphia
- $50 print credit
- CD of images for email/web use
- $50 gift card to Nicholas

We’re looking for a couple with a unique story about how they met, a touching story of the things they do for others, or anything else that you feel is deserving of a fun and fabulous portrait session! You can submit as part of the couple or you can submit on a couple’s behalf.  Just send your love story, contact info, and a snapshot of the couple to suzanne@suzannetenuto.com by September 30, 2009. I’ll announce the winners and publish their story on my blog by October 7, 2009.

- 2 hour location shoot within 35 miles of Philadelphia
- $50 print credit
- CD of images for email/web use

I’m looking for a couple with a unique story about how they met, a touching story of the things they do for others, or anything else that you feel is deserving of a fun and fabulous portrait session! You can submit as part of the couple or you can submit on a couple’s behalf.  Just send your love story, contact info, and a snapshot of the couple to suzanne@suzannetenuto.com by September 15, 2009. I’ll announce the winners and publish their story on my blog by September 22, 2009.