Hartley Nature Center Engagement Photography | Christian and Emily| Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

It happened while Christian was eno-ing with a friend on Furman campus, a couple friend stopped and talked to Chris for 5-10 minutes. Thanks to that talk christian and Emily's life would never be the same. As they walked away they said they thought Christian would be perfect for Emily. That was when the pestering texts started coming in on Christians phone all encouraging him to meet Emily! Christian finally gave in and went to the same church service at Hampton park to meet her. As he was super self-conscious of his clammy hands as he extended a handshake to Emily for the first time. 
Emily had seen his photos online like anyone would do before a setup. She thought he was pretty good looking but his smile was a little too preppy for her own personal tastes.   When they finally together it was a little awkward at first but they soon came to realize how easy it was to talk to one another. That was just the start, they enjoyed adventures exploring South Carolina's mountains and parks, Before they knew they were dating! 
Fast forward to Christian telling me that he was going to propose and wanted me to capture it. As any older sister would be I was STINKIN EXCITED! He planned it on his birthday to start off the new year right! 
They made their way to have dinner at one of Christian's favorite spots downtown. As they arrived to Cossettas they came to find it was closed for new year.  With a little disappointment he made his way to get some "awesome photos" at Rice Park. Being negative 5 degrees they got their photos and quickly ran back to the car.  They then made their way to Raspberry Island, which unknown to Emily, Marcus and I were waiting camera ready. 
They started to walk to the arch and when they got their it had a heart of rose petals. Christian got down on one knee and asked Emily to be his wife! As you can probably tell from the title she said YES! 

Now fast forward to their engagement session, we made our way up to Hartley nature Center to get some amazing photos in the woods. To top it off it was snowing all day and it just was Minnesota's way of adding that extra touch of magic to make these photos they way they are. 
I can't wait for their wedding in just a couple of months! 

Bringing Your Pet To Your Engagement Session | Minneapolis Wedding Photography | Tips for Brides

I LOVE animals and I know I am not the only one! I love cuddling with my two cats who I swear have two goals everyday : one- must eat the moment their humans wake up and two- keep their humans lap warm! No complaints from me!(said human)  

Pets are part of the family! So I understand when you want to have them in your engagement photos; I have a couple of tips to make your fur babies photography experience great!

Bring a third party to look after your animal once they are done with photos! Majority of the time  your animal will only be in 1/3 of your totally engagment session. The other 2/3 of the time you want to focus on just you too and nothing with take up more time and attention then a cute distracted bored animal! To keep your focus on you having a third person their will keep everything running smoothly! 

It doesnt just have to be your dog in the photos. Dogs are the most common for sessions but you are welcome to bring any pet that you want to incorporate into your photos ! For bigger animals like horses it may be easiest to plan on going where they are housed over bringing them to your engagement spot ! 

Have treats at the ready. A photo session is exciting for even the most well behaved of animals. Having their favorite treat will help keep them motivated and help me to get their attention when he is the star of the photo!  

Bring a leash for all animals! Nothing would be more horrifying than losing an animal during the session! When we are out shooting in public, it is new territory for your pet and that can be intense for any animal. To make sure their fears and uncertainties don't cause them to flee , play on the safe side and put them on a leash or a harness to grab them at a moments notice if they get too overwhelmed.  If your pet is new to the harness definitely have them wear it a couple of times around the house to get used to it before the shoot! It is one less thing to trigger stress on the day of the shoot!

Same Tips Apply for the Wedding Day! <3

Do you have any helpful tips to add? Please leave a comment below to fill us in on things I over looked!  

St Olaf Engagement Photography | Alyssa & Geoff | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

We have been emailing back and forth trying to pick the perfect day for this shoot! Canceled once to avoid an even colder day we landed on this past Tuesday ! We knew no one would fall asleep on this shoot because the chill we a good smack in the face! But by looking at Alyssa and Geoff's smiles you can't tell. They trooper through the snow and Minnesota chill to make magic happen! The also brought along for the journey the rambunctious Simba! He was so soft and did a great job chillaxing while we had shot a couple of photos of him. Our shoot was on the hills of St Olaf College where Alyssa and Geoff first met. Being in the same group of friends they have photographic evidence of meeting their freshman year in a human pyramid at a friends game night. It wasn't until a couple of years later they became closer friends. Geoff studying calculus went a semester abroad to Budapest to continue is math learning. They were just friends at this point but Alyssa really began to miss Geoff! Absence really does make the heart grow fonder! When he got back, they both knew this was something more than just good buds reuniting and decided to give them a shot.

It turned out for the better because here they years later planning for their September wedding! But before we get into that Geoff decided to put a ring on it and propose. He knew Alyssa being a true Minnesota girl loves lakes and made a reservation for a dinner that had a killer view. During their meal Geoff received a call from "an angry student." He apologetically took the call while setting the plan motion. Alyssa sat and waited for 30 minutes before receiving a text from Geoff to head for the car. Unbeknownst to her, he had slipped the car keys into her bag. After getting in the car she found a a mason jar with a clue of where to go. 

The clue lead her to a hill and she had a map to lead her. Not great with maps , Alyssa had another clue to lead her. 37 white origami cranes lead her to Geoff who then proposed! Ugh LOVE! 

Cant wait for their wedding later in 2018 and secretly hoping they bring Simba back so I can cuddle with him some more ;).