Josh & Bonnie // White Oak Park in Irwin, PA // Engagement Photography

I’m always a sucker for a good love story and Bonnie & Josh’s story is definitely epic.

He’s from the midwest and she’s from Pennsylvania. They didn’t meet online, but they did meet in a bar – just not in the United States. They met all the way around the world, in Japan.

Josh is in the Navy and was stationed in Japan. Coincidentally, Bonnie’s best friend had recently married a Navy man, who was – you guessed it – stationed in Japan. And when the opportunity arose for Bonnie to go visit her bestie overseas, she jumped on it.

When she arrived, her best friend took her on an epic tour of Japan. She wanted to show Bonnie everything and they decided to pack their days together to the brim. The only minor problem was that most of their stops included sushi & seafood that Bonnie wasn’t a huge fan of eating. Which meant, by the time dinner rolled around, she was usually starving. One particular night, they planned to meet Bonnie’s best friend’s husband & a group of his friends at a local bar.

Josh was included in that usual group of friends. He had been invited but was on the fence about going out that night. He had just gotten off a 12-hour shift and was exhausted. A little heckling, some coaxing, and a good dose of teasing later, he decided to come out. And he says that he’s forever grateful that he did. He spotted Bonnie at the bar that night & was instantly drawn to her. Like a magnet.

There was just one small problem. Someone had jokingly told the bartender that it was Bonnie’s birthday. She had been served a gigantic flaming drink and combined with her empty stomach, the alcohol was setting in fast. Needless to say, Josh vividly remembers talking to her, but Bonnie has no memory of talking to him.

Josh couldn’t get Bonnie out of his head. He simply couldn’t stop thinking about her. Via her friend, he got her username on the messaging app he used to keep in touch with all of his friends and sent out a group message saying “Thanks for the fun night.” Bonnie responded, “Who is this?” and thus they started chatting.

They casually messaged back & forth for a few weeks and then went the gap between Thanksgiving & Christmas without talking at all. On Christmas Day, Josh sent another group message to all of his friends saying, “Merry Christmas!” and they’ve talked every single day since that Christmas.

The following year when Josh had some time off, he bought a plane ticket to come to Pittsburgh. They may have talked every single day thru messages & texts, calls, and Skype, but Bonnie was nervous to officially “meet” this guy who she was quickly falling in love with. Would being together in person make things weird or would it be normal? As Josh arrived & met Bonnie, her family, and her dog, everyone couldn’t help but love him. He had a friendly, easy-going personality that was magnetic. He knew how to make everyone laugh, and he was obviously head-over-heels for Bonnie.

The rest, of course, is history! Since Josh is still in the Navy, we scheduled their engagement photos for a summer weekend when he’d be able to make the trip up to Irwin. They even brought Bonnie’s dog along for some photos (which is my favorite)! Josh is now stationed in Virginia (which is quite the upgrade from Japan) and I’m so excited for their wedding next spring!