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!

This beautiful fall day was perfect for Holly and Eric’s engagement session. We had so much fun together throwing leaves and watching the ducks swim around. Their love for each other was so evident and their laughter contagious. I am so excited for their wedding day this coming weekend at Aldo Leopold. I can’t wait to see what shenanigans we can get into!

A beautiful fall afternoon walk at devil’s lake state park is even better

when you get to take photos of a fun and loving couple like Emily and Michael. These two share a great passion for the outdoors and hiking together in beautiful places like Devil’s Lake are one of the best ways for them to connect. Their willingness for adventure and to try anything make them such a great match. It was a joy to spend the afternoon with them checking out all the sights and getting to know them as a couple. Their wedding day is going to be so fun coming up this summer and I can’t wait to see what they have in store!

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

Katie and Nic are getting married today!!!

These two cool cats are gettin’ hitched today! I’ve enjoyed getting to know them and also shooting this really fun session in Columbus. Nic is a firefighter so we got to go hang out at the station for a while. Check out the shananigans!