Why should I get engagement photos taken?

For many couples, the exhilaration of wedding planning begins the moment he pops the question. Now that you’ve said yes, it’s time to capture the passion and excitement of this special time with an engagement session!

Engagement sessions are a great way to help couples get used to being in front of the camera, and comfortable around us. That way on your wedding day, you’ll feel relaxed and carefree—and isn’t that the way it should be?

And, of course, engagement sessions are great for getting photos for your save the dates, sign-in books or as framed displays at your reception—and they’re a beautiful reminder of the time before you were Mr. & Mrs.!

Designed to be as unique as you, our engagements sessions are individually developed to match the individual couples’ style. Whether it’s a fun-loving session in your favorite park, or a stroll through a meaningful neighborhood or simply a beautiful backdrop to set the scene, yours will let your personality shine through!

Engagement sessions are great for many reasons! Not only do they capture this incredibly special time in your relationship and provide you with images you’ll treasure forever, it gives you a chance to work with us prior to the big day—and takes a lot of unnecessary stress out of the wedding shots!

 

Engagement Session Tips

As the bride, your engagement session will be an easy, fun and casual experience. But to maximize your time, here’s a few quick tips to get the most out of your session—enjoy!

• Bring two or three outfits: If you’re having a hard time choosing, bring more and ask for our input once we get “on set.” Steer clear of black tops and dresses, which don’t look as great in the light as brighter tones. And remember to be comfortable—your engagement session isn’t the time to try out those high heels or too-tight pencil skirts. The more comfortable and flexible you are, the better your photos will look.
• Coordinate—but don’t match: Think coordinating color palettes, but not matchy/matchy. Too much contrast (i.e. you in white, him in black) can overwhelm a picture.
• Think props: Have something special that has lots of significance in your relationship? It could be a quilt, a piece of jewelry, a vintage book or even something fun like a baseball shirts/caps from your favorite team. The more unique to your relationship, the better!
• Check out Pinterest: Pinterest is a great spot for engagement session inspiration. While we can definitely help, it’s great to come in with ideas you can easily share—so pin away and share your faves with us ahead of time so we can prep.
• Have fun and relax! Above all, enjoy. This is an exciting time for you as a couple—and this is just the first of many exciting steps!

Hailee and Daniel asked if I would come over to their house for their engagement session because they just got a new puppy and wanted to include the little munchkin in our shoot. OH MY GOODNESS! There is so much cuteness going on here that I can’t even handle it. The pups were the perfect subjects and did everything I wanted them to do…and that is basically: be cute!

Then we went for a little walk outside in their neighborhood and there was this gorgeous pond with a path all around it. It was a really beautiful evening and I really enjoyed seeing these two laugh together and enjoy this little moment of togetherness.  That’s why I love engagement sessions so much. You get to hold each other, look into each other’s eyes, smell them, love them and  just be WITH them. I can’t imagine a better way to spend an hour!

Two of my favorite places in Madison, WI are right downtown

Olin Turville Park off of John Nolen Dr. and the Memorial Union have some of the most beautiful and meaningful locations in the entire Madison area. Most couples who went to UW Madison enjoy time together at the Union and these two are no exception. This session was really fun because Lindsay and Jimmy were willing and ready to go out even if it was raining! I always keep a couple of cute umbrellas in the car so busted it out for them so we could run around in it singing and dancing. Ok, well, maybe not the last part. It only lasted a little while  anyway and then we had such beautiful light afterwards! I would also like to take a moment and just say how incredible her legs are! Amiright????  Jimmy’s legs aren’t bad either 😉

Jimmy and Lindsay have known each other for over 12 years but finally realized that there was something really special between them. Friendships don’t always end up in the friend zone…They like to go out with friends, hit up many of the amazing restaurants around town and have been enjoying Wisconsin’s winter weather and the fun sports activities that come with it. Hopefully it doesn’t all melt this week and they can enjoy more of it!

I am really looking forward to their wedding this weekend and will have another exciting blog post for that in a couple of weeks. For now, enjoy this really beautiful couple and think about summer!

 

 

When a figure skater and a hockey player fall in love…

It reminds me a little bit of The Cutting Edge! Toooooeeee pick! Well, no one was yelling that out but I’m sure there were some jokes about it in their lifetime. I will probably giggle about that for a while now.   They got us into the UW Hockey Rink for some photos of them cruising around and then we went out and enjoyed one of the most beautiful evenings in downtown Madison that I have ever seen. What fun session!

Kendra + Robert

 

Sometimes you have to climb up a gigantic hill and take some photos at sunset to get that perfect photo for your engagement session! When Kendra first asked me if I would be interested, I jumped at the idea. I had not been to this particular location yet and always love going to new spots for photo shoots. It really keeps the inspiration and creativity levels at their highest.

Gibralter Rock is located in Lodi! Make this a must visit this fall. I’m sure the views will be amazing when the colors start to change too!

These two adventurous people are getting married tomorrow! I am so excited to capture their wedding day.