Mandee and Mike live in Philadephia, so Grant and I had never met them before their engagement session. They arranged a whirlwind weekend of wedding planning in Grand Rapids, and we were able to spend time photographing them the afternoon before they headed back home. We enjoyed getting to know them a bit more in that time and loved how easily they interacted in front of the camera.

One of my favorite pictures from the session. I love catching happy moments when couples seem so unaware of being photographed.

Mike worked with a jewelry designer to make a custom ring for Mandee. When Mandee got a job promotion, he suggested celebrating by flying to Miami for a few days. She agreed, and they went away for a few days, her believing that it was all about her promotion. Later, on the beach, Mike pulled out the ring and asked Mandee to spend the rest of her life with him. Of course she said yes!

The picture on the right is one of our favorites. The geometry of it, the fact that it was taken in the Amway, where they will be getting married in August… love it.

Another favorite.

In our e-mail correspondences, Mandee mentioned how much they love living in the city, and hoped that we might be able to incorporate that into their photos somehow. I really like the feel of these two images, with them standing together, in love, amidst the buildings (and in front of their wedding location!).

Mandee and Mike, thanks so much for setting aside the time that you did for the session. We really enjoyed getting to know you a little bit more, and are excited to see you again in August!

I am probably sounding like a broken record by now, but I’ll say it again: Grant and I are so glad that when we started this business, we decided to include an engagement session for all of our wedding couples. How on earth could we expect to get a genuine look at your excitement and the sincerity of your love having never met before? Before Becca and Jason’s engagement session a couple of weeks ago, Becca and I had only ever corresponded via e-mail. I can’t imagine photographing their August wedding without the conversation we had over lemonade and smoothies at Panera, the hours we spent framing their interactions in our cameras, and the things we learned about their relationship along the way.

Becca had a very specific idea in mind for her engagement ring and had talked to Jason about it while they were dating. He told her that he could find something “similar”, then proceeded to  custom-order her perfectly designed ring and make plans to propose in NYC, atop the Empire State Building. The ring was finally delivered, just a day or two before their scheduled trip to New York. He might have just been too excited, or maybe he forgot, but the security at the ESB caught Jason by surprise. After the inevitable beep of the metal detector, Becca watched him, confused, as he was told by a security guard to step toward them and blatantly stepped in the other direction. He managed to show another guard the ring without her seeing, and was waved on. Becca told us that she can be hard to surprise, but Jason managed to pull off a beautiful suprise proposal, exactly as he’d planned, and with the exact ring Becca had fallen in love with.

Becca and Jason have such a sweet, happy way of interacting. They were all smiles throughout the whole session.

My favorite.

It was supposed to rain on the day of the session. Instead, we ended up with these beautiful clouds. The weather forecast emptied out the beach a bit more than normal too, which was perfect for some impromptu dancing.

As we were wrapping up the session, Jason asked for one more shot, in front of the lit up bridge. Thanks, Jason! This is one of our favorites from the session.

Becca and Jason, we can’t wait to see you again in Traverse City in August. The wedding sounds like it’s going to be absolutely beautiful!

Becca and Jason drove into Grand Rapids two Sundays ago for their engagement session. We only had been in contact with them through email until then, so it was great to spend the afternoon talking with them over lemonades and photographing them. We’re working hard to get the rest of them finished but for now, here’s two favorites:

Jon and Summer’s wedding and the rest of Becca and Jason’s session are coming up soon!

I know that we’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: Grant and I love engagement sessions. We love hanging out with people in love, getting to know them and watching the way they interact. By the end of the session, we are getting excited for the wedding and the chance to see them again. You’d think we might get tired of weddings after attending them weekly, but no. We inevitably spend our car ride home from an engagement session talking about how excited we are for the couple’s wedding day. Knowing someone and a bit of their story, spending time with people and hearing the anticipation they have for the life changes ahead… it keeps this whole thing from feeling like a job. We genuinely love spending time with these people and showing up to witness their wedding day.

Staci and Jason’s session is a perfect example of this. We hadn’t seen them since they booked us over a year ago. Since it had been so long, Jason had the perfect suggestion of meeting for coffee beforehand to chat and get comfortable before we started taking pictures. Grant and I enjoyed catching up on their lives and getting to know them better before pulling out the cameras and heading to Rockford. Here are a few of our favorite photos from the evening:

Love this.

We found such a perfect patch of light back in the trees by the river– my favorite!

Ok folks, I have to say it: Staci, you’re gorgeous. Many people– particularly brides– tell us how nervous they are before a session, and Staci was one of them. Seriously? I hope you can see that you have nothing to worry about!

The session was on a Sunday, so most of the shops and restaurants in Rockford were closed. Lucky us! We got the river boardwalk to ourselves and made use of the lamps as the sunlight faded.

Grant’s favorite.

Jason and Staci, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with you both. As we drove out of Rockford, Grant and I both talked about how excited we are for your wedding day and how honored we feel to be invited in to capture it. We’ll see you in July!