Hold on to your hats, folks! This love story of high school sweethearts will blow you away! Before their engagement shoot at Vanderbilt Museum, Christi and Sabino knew each other for 13 years. 

The summer before Christi started her freshman year of high school and Sabino began his junior year, they attended the same party. It was September 6, 2006, and their mutual friend was throwing a “Sour 16.” Sabino, 16, came late and as soon as he got there, he was introduced to Christi, 13.  “It’s hard to explain, but the way Sabino looked at me, it’s like he knew I was ‘the one’ in that moment.” 

A year later, on December 13, 2007, they became high school sweethearts, turning the number 13 into their lucky number. 

Christi and Sabino continued dating through high school but broke up in college. Yet, they always found their way back to each other, dating on and off during those four years. They officially got back together in 2016. 

Three years later, during their 13th year of knowing each other (are you catching on to the theme?), Sabino proposed! 

How did he do it? Well, the couple had been planning a two-week trip to Europe for a while. However, little did Christi know, Sabino was planning a whole bunch of surprises. 

They first stopped in Florence as it is Christi’s favorite place in Italy as well as where she studied abroad in college. During their first full day there, Sabino brought Christi to the Duomo, one of the highest points in the area that allows you to look over the entire city. Conveniently, a photographer who was “building his portfolio” asked to take a few pictures of them. Sabino dipped Christi, reenacting an old favorite photo of the two of them. This led to him getting down on one knee and asking Christi to be his wife. With a huge smile on her face, she said yes! 

But this was not the end! That night, they headed to Christi’s favorite restaurant where her sister and brother-in-law were waiting! They flew to Italy to celebrate with them. How incredible is that? 

On the day of their engagement shoot, Christi and Sabino showed up ready to get to work! They even brought their own props. “We brought the X and O balloons simply because I found a cute photo on Pinterest! We loved that we could bring a prop with only one photo in mind for it, yet Nicole and Josh immediately started thinking of other creative ways to incorporate the balloons!” What can we say? We love props! 

This beautiful couple chose to do their engagement shoot at the Vanderbilt Museum because they wanted to stay close to where their love story began, where they grew up. The Vanderbilt Museum had a perfect mix of European architecture and views of the Long Island Sound. It was a nice balance of where they originally got engaged and their engagement session. Additionally, the fall foliage was perfect and made for an amazing backdrop. 

We loved getting to know Christi and Sabino at the Vanderbilt Museum before their big day, and they loved getting to know us! “We wanted the opportunity to get to know our photographers before our wedding day. Nicole and Josh are so detail-oriented and extremely easy to work with. I already know they will make our wedding day fun and easy while capturing amazing photos of us!” 

Looking forward to the wedding! Congratulations on your engagement!