Cait LeVee and Ryan Smith met on Hinge in 2020 in the thick of the pandemic. The Peace Corps had evacuated Ryan from Blama, Sierra Leone, for his own safety, and he eventually made his way to Towson to get his MBA, while Cait was putting in long stressful hours as a nurse in a pediatric intensive care unit. One night, after a long week at work, Cait decided to take a “personal night.” She was craving Bojangles, and the closest one was an hour away. Next thing Cait knew, Ryan showed up at her doorstep for a road trip for Bojangles, followed by the Costco in Washington, D.C., where a world of cheap booze awaited them. It was only their third date. After devouring their chicken and biscuits, Cait and Ryan stood in line for Costco, waiting to be let into the store due to social distancing. Once inside, Ryan got his mugshot for his membership card and Cait loaded up the cart with booze. “Our love was cemented by staring into each other’s eyes while Ryan was getting his membership photo taken and I was holding 16 bottles of Kirkland prosecco,” laughs Cait.
“Life changes so much over the course of years and decades together, so it’s my goal to capture what life is like right now. I encourage couples to think about their favorite things to do together and we brainstorm from there.”
– Brea Marie Pretz, Photography by Brea
The two were engaged in February 2023—while Cait had COVID—and once they hired their wedding photographer, Brea Marie Pretz, they decided to take engagement shots. They didn’t know what they wanted for photos and as a joke mentioned one of their (still) favorite spots—Costco—and ran with it. “We think it is important to embrace the things you love as a couple and engagement photos should be something that portrays who you are and what you enjoy doing together,” says Cait. “Yes, posed photos look lovely and we definitely wanted some of those too, but we enjoy more candid memories and wanted something that truly expressed who we are as a couple.” None of their friends were shocked that’s where they ended up or that they included their dogs. Says Cait, “It definitely reflects our personalities and our everyday life.”