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!

It was a glorious day for a trip to the zoo to see some penguins…

Emily had one thing she really wanted to do on her wedding day and that was to see some penguins in her wedding dress. It was about 90 degrees and humid but they hung out in their cute little cave in the background and made her penguin dreams come true!

I also had my dream come true taking photos of Michael and Emily in front of the giraffes! And boy did they come out to play! We got some great laughs walking around and hitting up some of the classic spots too. The one with the giant polar makes me laugh every time I look at it. It’s like he is watching over them with loving eyes! Hahahaha, awesome.

Their ceremony took place on the rooftop of Monona Terrace. As Emily and her father walked down the isle, I panned over to see Michael trying to hold back tears but by the time she got up there, it was full on. The groomsmen were also letting loose with the emotions. I love such a close group of friends and family. Everyone was so friendly and sweet and we just had the best day ever.

There were so many moments I could write about like the friendly guy giving us money at the zoo or the other very friendly guy giving Michael pocket snacks but the one that really stands out was during the reception. They had everyone sing happy birthday to Grandma and one of their close very friends, who coincidentally shared their birthday that very same day with my mom and brother! Both of them were very surprised and even more when they each received a special birthday cupcake! I definitely had a tear in my eye!

My favorite part of the evening was when my second shooter, Heidi, and I got to go up to the rooftop with the bride and groom for sunset. We had just enough alone time with them to get some truly beautiful and intimate shots. What an incredible place to have your wedding! In all my years of doing this, I don’t think I will ever get tired of taking photos on that rooftop. Cheers!

It was such a beautiful day and these two did an amazing job planning it. There were so many amazing vendors to make this day so perfect!

Venue: Monona Terrace  Ceremony on Rooftop and Reception in Community Terrace  //  Getting Ready: Hilton Madison Monona Terrace  //  Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid Dresses:  Elaine’s Wedding Center //  Grooms Attire: Nedrebo’s Formalwear //  Floral: B-Style Floral  //  Wedding Cake: The Looking Glass  //  DJ: Jukebox Bandstand  //  Hair and Makeup: Arch Apothecary  //  Travel: Wayne Ace  //  Second Shooter: Heidi Johnson

Family weddings are one of my favorite kinds of events to shoot. I  get to see everyone I love and truly spend some quality time with the bride and groom on their special day. This wedding was my husband’s cousin, Zak’s wedding.  What is really neat about this, is that I have known the groom for about 16-17ish years (I think) and absolutely love his whole family. Megan has been really fun getting to know too. She is a perfect match for Zak. You can see how happy he is when he looks at her with his gigantic smile that crinkles up his eyes in cutest way. I had real tears in my eyes during the ceremony!

It was a very intimate ceremony at Doubledays in Cottage Grove with just some close family members and the wedding party. Afterwards, we went off to Burke Park to take photos and then back to the reception where more family and friends were waiting. My son Wesley was there running everywhere and was very excited to dance fight with the light sabers that the wedding party used for their grand march. Thanks to Blaine at Now That’s Entertainment for keeping the kiddos entertained while the grownups socialized! Megan also made a super cute groom’s cake for Zak. It was so perfect. Check out the photos below to see what she had made for him!

There were some great vendors involved to make this day super special. Here they are:

Venue: Doubledays  //  Dress: David’s Bridal  //  Suits: Nedrebos  //  Rings: Kesslers //  Travel: Wayne’s Ace Bus and Limo  //  Cake: Karen The Cake Lady  //  DJ: Now That’s Entertainment  //  Catering: Doubledays  //  Decor: DIY  and Doubledays

It was a beautiful spring day at the East Side Club on the shore of Lake Monona.

Pete was watching Star Wars with his pals and Lindsay was getting ready with her gorgeous ladies. May the 4th Be With You! All the tables were sweetly decorated with gorgeous flowers and little Lego Star Wars figures. It was so cute. The guys finished getting ready and decided to play a frisbee to warm up for the day. That’s how the lovely bride and groom met! On their ultimate frisbee team! Side note, I also wanted to mention that they have the best name ever for their current team: Sofa Kingdom. So, to commemorate the day, they had a special wedding frisbee made since it is such a big part of their lives. It had a little design on it that Pete’s sister created for them. Kind of like a family crest. It also appeared on the cups the girls were drinking from, the programs and on the coasters that they used for seating arrangements. I loved all the little personalize touches that made the day so special for them. Lindsay even crocheted tiny little blue flowers to be put in Pete’s boutonniere.  She described the process and how she had to wear these big magnifying glasses to see what she was doing and had us all laughing. Seriously, these flowers were so tiny! Quite impressive.

Everyone was so fun to be around! You can really see the joy on their faces and the love in the room.

All these amazing vendors contributed to this amazing day:

Venue: The Eastside Club  //  Catering: Stoddard’s  //  Cupcakes: Bloom Bake Shop  //  Wedding Dress: Vera’s House of Bridals  //  Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal  //  Groom’s Attire: Jos A Bank //  Floral and Design: Simply Glamorous Designs by Oregon Floral  //  Hair and Makeup: Brideheads //  Wedding Rings: Bernie’s Rock Shop (Custom Design with Grandma’s Diamond