Weekend of Love! A Starved Rock Wedding, 2 Engagement Sessions and a Proposal!
A few weekends ago, in less than 24 hrs. I photographed a wedding, 2 engagement sessions and a proposal. That weekend has officially been declared the weekend of love! It all started with a wedding on Friday. I traveled up to Starved Rock with my second shooter/BFF to photograph a wedding for the lovely Amy and Vince! All of their festivities and photos happened right in the middle of it all. Surrounded by the beautiful trees, babbling brooks and stunning canyons! Their intimate outdoor wedding was absolutely beautiful and i’m not even kidding when I say that the bride & groom’s vows almost brought me to tears.
After staying the night in a local hotel, Nicole and I woke up bright and early the next morning to do a sunrise engagement session! We went to the nearby Matthiessen Park and started with some photos of them in a field with their adorable dog Cooper. After they were all loosened up and ready to go we decided to head to Lake Falls. We were hoping to hike down to the biggest waterfall and capture some gorgeous and intimate photos there. Thankfully, my couple had a sense of adventure and knew that the results would be WORTH IT! And it did NOT disappoint… the spectacular waterfalls, huge cliff swallows, and serene ponds were undeniably stunning but not nearly as breathtaking as the sweet love that Austin and Hailey shared.
After their engagement session Nicole and I proceeded on our way home when I received a message saying that this next session (a couples session) was actually going to include a surprise proposal. While this isn’t my first proposal… typically I plan the proposal’s ahead of time with the guy. I tell him how when I say a certain social cue that I want him to get down on one knee, we plan out where to stand and allllllll the details. But this time we were going to be flying by the seat of our pants.
When Kaila and Logan arrived you could see the nervousness in Logan’s face and the complete cluelessness in Kaila’s. She had no idea that her life was about to change forever. We walked around a local park, searching for just the right spot since her session was taking place at high noon when the sun is the brightest!
There was only time for a couple of poses... I could see Logan's anticipation and anxiety building and about three poses in, he couldn't take it anymore! He looked her in the eye and told her this was their engagement session! As you can see from the photo, 👇she was shocked! He got down on one knee, presented her with a TIMELESS and BEAUTIFUL ring and asked her to marry him! And obviously #shesaidyes! This session has since been published The Knot.
That evening I proceed to another engagement session back in Lincoln for Kayleigh and Ryan! These two lovebirds have the cutest baby boy together and have decided to get married! Their engagement session was a fun date night away from their every day life of parenthood and it was such a pleasure getting to know them and laughing with them as we paraded their love around town! I absolutely cannot wait for this upcoming wedding!
