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!

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!

 

Katie and Nic were married at a beautiful old church out in East Bristol, Wisconsin.

It was a beautiful November day with a fresh little coat of snow on the ground. Katie was downstairs getting ready with all her bridesmaids and Nic was across the way with his closest friends and family.  These two were such a fun couple always smiling and laughing and Nic was constantly making funny faces. We had a really good time taking photos and getting really natural and fun candid photos. The ceremony was a traditional Catholic Mass and which lasted about an hour. The pianist was absolutely lovely and everything went perfectly.

We got to spend a little time outside after the ceremony at Lake Windsor Golf Club with the wedding party and also just the bride and groom. It was pretty nice out and we were able to really enjoy the beautiful outdoors for a bit!

The Great Blaine Haugen of Now That’s Entertainment lead the reception with nonstop fun. He does games, gets the crowd really going with his fun personality, and of course the ever important Grease montage during the dance! I almost didn’t want to leave but after 10 hours, I think we covered the day pretty well!

My second shooter, Lindsay Meffert, did a wonderful job covering all the little details and candid photos.  I included about 250 of my favorite images below to show off the entire day as a wonderful little story. Enjoy!!!

 

All of these amazing vendors helped to put together this amazing day!

Church: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church  //  Reception Venue:  Lake Windsor Country Club  //  Officiant:  Father Vince  //  DJ:  Now That’s Entertainment  //  Dress:  Vera’s House of Bridals  //  Groom’s Attire: Nedrebo’s  //  Limo: Gallant Night Limousine  //  Hair and Makeup: Stefanie Sebaski  //  Cake and Cupcakes: Nic’s Mom!!! Julie Hornbacher Julie’s Java House  //  Second Photographer:  Lindsay Meffert

Morgan + Thomas

It all started 6 years ago with Thomas wearing a pair of bunny ears and asking Morgan to prom after following a crazy trail of Easter eggs with a code inside. Of course she said yes, I mean come on! How cute is that??? They went as friends but fell in love all the same. For years they kept a long distance relationship visiting each other from LaCrosse to St. Paul even without owning cars for the first few years. They would take bus rides to each other even though sometimes it would take several hours just to get there. One of my favorite stories is of their first kiss where Morgan had to dress up like a boy to sneak on campus at midnight to kiss Thomas under the Arches so he could become a true Tommie at the University of St. Thomas.

There were so many great stories printed on cards about their relationship on the tables at the wedding. What a great idea to share with your guests! I grabbed a few so so I could share some stories for this blog post! It was such a beautiful day and everyone was so sweet. You could just feel the love between Morgan and her parents. Especially during the father/daughter dance and she gave him a bunch of “Butterfly kisses.”

Vendors involved in the gorgeous day:

Ceremony: Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church  //  Reception: Wyndham Garden Hotel  //  Dress: Charlotte’s Bridal  //  Floral and Stationary: Pages + Petals  //  Cake: Creative Confections-Alicia Russell  //  Hair and Makeup: Ultimate Veritas Spa and Salon  //  DJ: Andrew Szlapka