{Timber Trails Engagement // Meghan + Patrick}

{interlochen, michigan // may 2020}

Meghan + Patrick couldn’t have been any more cute! These two got engaged back in March at a beautiful restaurant in downtown Traverse City called Minerva’s. This was a special place for them as they spent their one year anniversary there and a couple other anniversaries as well. Patrick didn’t know where he wanted to propose, inside or outside, but he knew he wanted it to be intimate. As they finished with their dinner, Meghan went to get up and Patrick asked her “What are you doing?” Meghan thought they were done so she assumed they would be leaving, but then he stood up, got down on one knee, and proposed with the sweetest words. Meghan was in complete shock as she never pictured him proposing in a restaurant. And funny enough, they were sat in the same booth where they had their one year anniversary dinner.

Meghan had told me about the Timber Recreational Area and showed me a couple pictures and knew it was going to make for some gorgeous photos. And boy did it. These images really show the love that these two are in and it makes me happy just looking at them. We spent a little while walking around the area and stopping and the most beautiful locations. Towards the middle of one of the trails is an old Girl Scout Camp, which I thought was really cool. As the sun started to set more and more, we talked about getting some photos by the water, but the lake by the camp didn’t have a beach area that wasn’t swampy from the weeks worth of rain. So we took a little drive into Traverse City and stopped at Bryant Park right on West Bay and got the most stunning sunset photos. The only bad part about that was the 50 degree weather and the wind, but it all worked out in the end.

Some advice from these two for future couples planning their wedding:

Our advice would be that you don’t have to stress about spending a lot of money to get your dream wedding. You can make your dream wedding come true! And don’t let anyone control or intimidate what you want for your wedding, do it your way and don’t care about what other people say! And most importantly it’s about marrying the person you love!

February will be here sooo soon!

{Hemlock Park Engagement // Erin + Steven}

{big rapids, michigan // april 2020}

Erin + Steven are the couple you would find walking their dog in the evening or playing video games together. During their relationship, marriage was something they had talked about but had the serious conversation until they were on their way back home from visiting family up north. In December, Steven asked Erin’s dad for his blessing and started ring shopping. But he couldn’t find one he thought she would like. She always had the desire to use her late grandmother’s diamonds from her engagement ring so they decided to design their own so she could wear them. And the ring turned out GORGEOUS! While they waited for the ring to be made, Erin started telling family and friends they were planning on getting married in the summer of 2020. She felt kind of foolish telling them as there was no ring yet and no real proposal. But that didn’t sop her.

They talked about getting a cheap ring and doing an official proposal while they waited for her ring. And one night Erin turned on Steven’s laptop and saw there was an error on the screen about a missing hard drive. They thought the other one had dropped it and had a little back and forth about it. Steven told her to turn it off and open up the back to see what was wrong with it. She struggled a bit as one of the corners was stuck and she didn’t want to break it. So Steven took her spot, got the back off to reveal a ring taped where the hard drive was supposed to be. It took Erin a second to realize what it was and when she finally did, she was surprised to say the least! He removed the ring, got down on one knee and asked her to marry him and OF COURSE she said YESSS!!

{West Michigan Engagement // Kacy + Amos}

{west olive, michigan // april 2020}

Kacy + Amos are the sweetest people. After waiting almost 7 years, Amos finally popped the question last Thanksgiving while visiting family in New York. He asked her to go take a picture with him outside and when his brother went to take the photo, he got down on one knee. How cute? And of course she said YES!

They have a sweet little boy named Zayden who wasn’t too sure about getting his photos taken. I did happen to catch one super cute smile though! I’m sure he will be ready for the big day in September!

{Milwaukee Engagement // Larua + Daniel}

{milwaukee, wi // december 2019}

Laura + Daniel are Michigan natives who are living in Milwaukee for work. They’ve been together for 6 years and Daniel decided to propose in Maui on the beach! They love their cat, Barclay, and finding new craft beers and wines.

I traveled Milwaukee for the first time yesterday to take Laura + Daniel’s engagement photos. The session started at the Saint Kate hotel for a quick drink to loosen up and warm up a bit. We decided to brace the 20 degree weather and head outside. We walked around the block to the Pabst Theater, which had the prettiest doors. Then we looped back around the other side of the Saint Kate to one of the many bridges in the city. On the back of the building was a cute little balcony where the sun was hitting beautifully.

We knew we didn’t have much sunlight left, so we took a drive down to the water. There was a great view of the skyline. We also couldn’t pass up taking photos in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The art museum has wings that open from the sides twice a day.

Thank you Laura + Daniel for giving me the chance to come to Milwaukee and can’t wait for next October!

{Traverse City Engagement // Mattie + Tristan}

{traverse city, michigan // october 2019}

I had a lot of fun with Mattie + Tristan while shooting their engagement session at the Historic Barns Park in Traverse City, Michigan. They brought along their cute puppy too. The day started off kind of cloudy so we were really unsure of how our evening session was going to go. But we ended up getting lucky and getting a gorgeous sunset out of it.

Thank you Mattie + Tristan for the fun and can’t wait for your June 2021 wedding!