It's pretty easy to fall in love with an aquatic lifestyle when you're dating a marine biologist. Once Roger met his mermaid Emily, there was no going back.
When Emily told us she was thinking of a scuba/free diving photoshoot for her and Roger's engagement announcement, we were pumped! Not only is Emily a sweet friend from graduate school who studied Marine Biology, she and Roger are also water people - we love water people because we're also water people!
They didn't want your typical posed engagement photos. They wanted to capture this time in the very element that brought them together ~ water. We are so grateful they came to us because this is exactly the type of sessions we love to be a part of - just spending an afternoon under, in, on, and near the water documenting the connection along the way.
:: Emily & Roger's story ::
Emily and Roger met while working at the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Recplex. Emily was already SCUBA certified and was getting her Rescue Diver certification through the academic SCUBA program at NSU. Roger was on the fence as to whether he was going to learn how to SCUBA dive but was convinced to get his Open Water SCUBA certification by his mermaid girlfriend. He ended up loving the sport so much, he too took his skills to the next level and became Rescue Diver certified.
With Roger certified, a whole new underwater world opened up to them as a couple. They became avid divers exploring places like the Spiegel Grove in the Florida Keys and Cozumel, Mexico.
In the Summer of 2016, Roger, an injured USA Army veteran, was getting x-rays done on his shoulder when the doctors found a small benign brain tumor. The night before he was to have surgery to have it removed, Emily snuck in a dive mask to the University of Miami hospital to brighten Roger's spirits. She knew of all places Roger would rather be, it was underwater diving.
Due to such a sensitive procedure, Roger was told he had to wait six months to a year to recover before he could return to diving. Though Roger has had to ease back into the water, the shallow shore dives they have done have kept Roger in his happy place.
Emily and Roger plan on being married in 2019. Their cake topper will be a couple diving. What they're most looking forward to is getting back into taking big dive trips and knocking more wrecks off their bucket list.
For them, diving is a past time that they can enjoy together. As they say, couples that dive together stay together!
This is what underwater love looks like.
