Abby and Nic's engagement photos

On the last warm weekend of October I met up with Abby and Nic to take their engagement photos at Grand Ravines. Abby and I used to work together so it was lots of fun catching up with her and meeting Nic, they are not getting married until next October but I appreciate the way they are planning ahead! They wanted a few photos with their dogs and despite our best efforts the dogs were not in the mood to hold still so we gave up on that pretty quickly. The fall colors have been late this year, but we found some great spots on the trails and by the river. I’m so grateful that Abby and Nic were up for an adventure (and a long walk) because we got lots of great photos. Here are some of my favorites!

Sarah and Terrell's engagement

Sarah and Terrell have been together for a long time and joke that they are doing things backwards since they already have a house kids! They finally decided to tie the knot and are having a small destination wedding combined with family vacation this winter someplace warmer then Michigan :) A group of friends decided to gift them an engagement photo session and since the wedding will be out of state they wanted to get photos at some of the iconic spots downtown Grand Rapids. Sarah and Terrell were such good sports when it started raining and I ushered them into the nearest hotel very quickly! We weren’t the only ones taking photos in the sky walks and hotels that afternoon though, I saw at least 3 wedding parties in the same spots :) I’m grateful they were willing to be so flexible- here are some of my favorites from the engagement session!

Mary and Matt's engagement

These two are not getting married until next October, but I’m so glad I was able to meet them last weekend for an engagement session! Mary and Matt both attend my Alma mater, Grand Valley, so it was lots of fun for me to be back on campus and see how much has changed since my time there. We had great weather and though there was not a ton of fall color yet, GVSU has some great architecture and landscaping that make for great photo spots. Here are some of my favorites from Mary and Matt’s engagement session!

Jen and Lori Engagement Photos

Jen and I have a mutual friend so I’ve known her for several years and was thrilled when she asked me to photograph her wedding in August. As with any wedding I photograph, I offered engagement photos and I’m so glad Jen and Lori took me up on the offer. We met at Grand Ravines on a very hot August Sunday but these girls did not complain about the heat and I had lots of fun getting to know them while walking around the park trying to find shade for photos. Here are some of my favorites from their session, I can’t wait to celebrate their wedding in just one week!

Jess & Sid's Engagement

Jess and Sid were hoping for snow for their engagement photos, but Michigan was not cooperating in December or early January (although now, two weeks later, we have plenty of snow)! They wanted pictures in front of the public museum where they got engaged and at the blue bridge which are some of my favorite places in Grand Rapids as well. Despite the cold weather Jess and Sid laughed a lot and we all had a good time, I can’t wait for their wedding in September!

Jasmine & Deion's engagement

Jasmine and Deion were my first engagement session of 2019 and I’m so glad we were able to make time for this session since their wedding is in just two months! We met at one of my most frequent photography spots, Millennium Park, and they were even willing to do a little extra walking since it was the off season and the main entrance was closed so we had to park across the street :) The two of them also did a great job pretending not to be cold while I was bundled up in my winter coat, hat and gloves. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of them!

Heather & Dale's Engagement

A couple weeks ago I met up with Heather and Dale for an engagement session downtown St. Joe.  They drove up to Michigan from Indiana so of course I wanted to show off our lake shore and fortunately we discovered now and not on their wedding day that we are in different time zones :)  Despite the crazy wind we still got some great photos and I'm excited to see these two again in a couple months for their wedding!  Here are some of my favorites. 

Megan & Kahler's Engagment

A couple weeks ago I got to visit my alma matter - Grand Valley State University- to take some engagement photos of Megan and Kahler.  They are high school sweethearts who are both current students at Grand Valley and planning a wedding for summer 2018.  We managed to go to both campuses and take a quick walk to the blue bridge on this sunny spring day.  With so many great locations and pretty flowers it was so hard to choose only a few to share here!

Tim & Anna's Engagement Photos

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to head out to Michigan State University where Tim and Anna both go to school and take their engagement photos.  It was a beautiful fall day and the campus was full of great spots for pictures.  Plus, Tim and Anna were naturals for the camera! I can't wait for their wedding next June, but for not enjoy some of my favorites from their engagement session.