The Circle of Life!!!!! ⭕️ Life is so unpredictable....Michael used to train soccer kids for strength and conditioning. His FIRST ever client of his fitness career was Ryan Henriquez. Michael also trained his 8-year-old little sister Maddie for soccer ⚽️. And now 25 years later we just photographed Madison + Ashton’s engagement session 📸!!!!!
Maddie and Ashton both work in medical sales and together they enjoy working out at the gym, going to the park with their sweet dog Harley, hanging out at breweries and wineries with friends. What a wonderful couple and we can’t for their next year at the Tampa Museum of Art!!!!!💛💛💛
Q: Let’s start at the beginning. How did you two first meet?
A: Ashton and I met Sophomore year at Florida State University in Religion Class. I walked in the first day and saw him sitting down and thought to myself, he's cute so I sat down next to him. We started out as friends and would hangout occasionally. After 2 years of being best friends, we started dating our senior year and have been inseparable ever since.
Q: What makes your relationship special? Tell us some things that you both value in your time together. (example: pushing each other to new limits, love to travel, huge comic book fans, foodies, etc.) What makes your relationship unique?
A: What makes our relationship special is the ability we have to balance each other out. Madison pushes me to strive for more and look to the future while I am here to calm her down and make sure she enjoys the present. We also, love to travel, try new restaurants and love going to wineries and breweries.
Q: How did you know your partner was the one? When did you first know this in your relationship? (these may often be the same moment, but aren’t always)
A: I knew Ashton was the one on a trip to Savannah visiting his family. We were on his mother's boat and I was watching him play and love on his little brother. It was at that time, I knew I was in love with him. Ashton is just so compassionate, patient, nurturing and loving. I knew he would not only make a great husband but an even better father to our future kids. I knew Madison was the one when we were doing long distance after college. I was living in Dallas, TX and she was in Tampa, FL. We hadn't seen each other in months and after an amazing weekend with her in Dallas, I was reminded of her smile, beauty, and her terrible dad jokes. It was so hard to see her leave and I knew that she was the one. I didn't want to continue life without her by my side and after 10 months in Dallas, I searched and secured a job in Tampa to be with her forever.
Q: Give us all the details about the proposal. How and where did it happen? Was it a surprise? What was the planning process?
A: I had the ring for about a month and a half and was trying to plan where I was going to pop the question. I looked at planning a trip for us to take or locations around Tampa but couldn't find the right opportunity. My brother plays college football in Boston, MA and Madison had never been to Boston before so we agreed to go up together. I knew this would be the right time to ask as my family would be up there and we could all share in the moment. I planned to ask her in the Boston Public Gardens. My father is an avid photographer so I asked him to come up early and join us around Boston while taking photos of us and the city. He was in on the plan and knew that I had planned to ask her that day in the gardens. We walked the city and eventually made it to the gardens. After walking around for a little while, we made our way back onto the bridge. We were getting ready to leave and I decided we needed to take a few last photos. It was at this moment, I got down on one knee and surprised her. I asked her to make me the happiest man by being mine forever. Thankfully she said YES!
Q: We’re all about the bling… Tell us all about that ring!
A: Ashton and I were in St. Maarten on vacation and we walked into this jewelry store that was voted #1 on the island. We were looking at engagement settings for fun and I put this engagement setting on that had diamonds on the front, top and back of the band that went half way down ring. It was at that moment I was in love with this engagement setting and Ashton was equally as excited. He always knew I wanted sparkle and for the main stone to be a radiant cut. A year after being in St. Maarten, he told me he had to go to Jacksonville for some work training but instead flew down to St. Maarteen to pick up my dream ring.
Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to your wedding planning?
A: What we are most excited about when it comes to our wedding planning is being able to visualize what our wedding day will look like. We love meeting with vendors and listening to their ideas and knowing we have the best people around us that will bring our vision to life.
Lead Photographers | Luxury Collection with Michael + Rebecca Zoumberos
Locations | Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa Museum of Art, University of Tampa
