Gheens Foundation Lodge Louisville Kentucky
Gheens Foundation Lodge is an gorgeous venue that feels like a hidden gem located just 20 mins east of Louisville. Situated inside Beckley Creek Park you will find this Kentucky tobacco barn inspired wood paneled lodge with floor to ceiling windows and views of the great outdoors.
Throughout the park there is a serene atmosphere that captures your senses and makes you fall in love with it’s expansive beauty. This was the picture perfect location for Courtnie and Dacoda to have their engagement photos taken.
To accompany their photos, we at Green Apple Photography asked if they would share more about their relationship, how they met, and what they’re most looking forward to in their life together. We are so happy to share more about Courtnie and Dacoda through their own words:
How did you meet?:
We actually met on tinder when the whole world was shutting down. I swiped right on a guy in a wedding dress thinking this was either going to show his personality or make me run for the hills. Little did I know he’d be the reason for me being able to wear a wedding dress.
When/where did you go on your first date?
We first met in person on July 30th, 2020, when everything was shutting down. We met outside my townhouse in the parking lot and talked for about four hours because we couldn’t really go anywhere, and we were both leaving for vacations the next day and wanted to meet before we left.
Tell me a bit about how you fell in love?
I had been single for a year and a half because of my dating history, and I was adamant on taking it slow and not rushing in fully and just getting hurt. So, we talked for a couple months before we met. As much as I want to say I didn’t fall hard and fast, that would be a lie. I fell in love with him little by little starting with the night he first made me dinner. He cooked everything from scratch, went all out and even got me flowers and placed them on the table but I didn’t notice them until the next morning. Haha. I didn’t let him know that I had already began falling that night and surprisingly I was able to keep it that way until He wrote “I do all this because I love you” in a card when he surprised me with grocery after I had to quarantine because I was waiting on covid results, but it turned up to be strep. Since then, we just keep falling more and more in love with each other. Now granted we have ups and downs, hard days, and arguments but we’ve been able to work through them and come out on top.
How did your fiancé propose?:
Dacoda proposed on the bow of this little personal excursion boat at/ in front of the sunset before we went shark fishing and bow fishing with my sister. We were able to catch two sharks that night and tag one of them, along with several other diverse fish and gar.
Where/when did your fiancé propose?
Dacoda proposed on July 25th, 2021 on Crystal River in Florida. We were on a night fishing excursion with Florida Bowfishing Captain Ed McCormick.
What are you most excited about for your wedding?
I am excited for every aspect of our wedding, we aren’t traditional and neither is our wedding. I would love to have a black dress and we are getting married on a Friday the 13th in October.
Describe your relationship in 5 words?
Passionate, Loving, Playfulness, Communication, Understanding.
What is something that means the most to both of you?
Family
What is your favorite thing about your fiancé?
I love his eyes and how they light up when he gets to do something he loves, I love how compassionate he is and thoughtful he is. It is literally all the little things that make him, him.
How have you grown as a couple since you started dating?
In all reality we have grown so much since we started dating. We haven’t had the best luck in our past dating, thankfully because that led us to each other but we have had to over come communication issues and being able to be there for each other in the way they need even if it is different or new to ourselves. We have gotten a lot better with communicating and using the love languages that make more sense to the other and help the other.
Favorite Quirk about each other?
My favorite quirk about Coda is his knack for making me laugh by a facial expression or action when smiling or laughing is the complete opposite of what I want to do. I can be thee maddest I’ve been and he’ll make this face where he like squints his eyes, tilts his head and has this weird creepy smirk and I can’t help to not be mad anymore.
If you could spend 24 hours with your fiancé, what would you be doing?
We don’t get a lot of alone time of so I would definitely do the things that can allow us to be adventurous but as a couple. Coda is very explorative, likes to try new things and is adventurous. I am more reserved and paced out so we tend to balance each other and in a weird calming way I am able to try new things and get out of my comfort zone with him. I would love for us to do something that neither of us has done and just do it together while capturing a photo or two for the memory.
When do you feel most loved by your person?
I feel most loved by my person when he implements actions that I communicate are worrying/ troubling me and his actions show that he has been listening and actually fully took it in and is trying.
What vendors did you wear or use for your engagement outfits?
I wore a dress from Baltic Born. My second outfit was a jacket that I have had for 4 years, the white shirt was from Shein, the jeans were from Torrid.
Dacoda’s outfit I’m not sure of because I gave him free reign to his own outfit choices. But if I had to guess he probably got all his clothes from Eddie Bauer, Jeans possibly from there or Walmart as well.
