Sometimes life can get a little crazy! The winding road to reach milestone events can present hills, valleys, and get a little bumpy between arriving at your destination! And if you are Kristin and Jeff, who I recently had the opportunity to photograph, you take it all in stride and see it as a new adventure! Jeff is currently in the Army and will be leaving on a long deployment to serve our country. When I met with Kristin a few weeks ago for the first time, she explained her and Jeff knew they were going to get married when he returned and were starting to get that journey moving forward. They have already set their date for the end of this year, booked the venue, and now they were ready to book me as their photographer. YAY, right?! Especially since I already photographed Kristin’s cousin, Caitlin’s wedding last year to Mitch! I love working with families again! However, Jeff hadn’t “Officially” popped the question as they were waiting for the perfect ring for Kristin. Yet, they wanted to move forward with engagement photos because of Jeff’s timeline for his deployment, which was quickly approaching at the end of July! The day we planned to meet for their session, of course, the weather wasn’t appearing it was going to cooperate. Dark skies and big green blobs on the radar had Kristin and I scrambling to decide how to proceed. But, since Jeff was so close to his departure date this was the only day we could all make work. We started in the studio since the weather was looking a bit rough, which I don’t think I’ve ever had to do with an engagement session. But, it gave us all a chance to ease into our time together and see if the rain in the forecast would disappear. Kristin and Jeff had plenty of fun relaxing on the couch together and showing me pretty fast how adorable they are in each other’s arms! By the time we were finished in the studio, the clouds were lighter and the sun peeked out for a second. So outside we went! 

Kristin and I had talked about all sorts of locations before her and Jeff’s session, but with the weather, we adjusted to make sure we could get in photos rain or shine. We started downtown at the Horace Mann building. With flowers, beautiful downtown views, and a modern building it was the perfect place for Jeff and Kristin and goof around with each other. And seriously, these two have way too much fun in the other’s company! They are constantly making silly faces, giggling, and telling jokes. So cute, right?! After a few photos around the area, I walked Kristin over to a spot for the next photo and turned around seeing Jeff sneaking up behind her. By the time Kristin turned around, Jeff was down on one knee with a ring in his hand asking Kristin to be his wife! And not just any ring, a ring that belonged to his beloved mother, who has passed away! Kristin’s reaction was priceless and it was such a cool moment to be able to capture for the couple! With some undeniably bigger smiles after becoming officially engaged, we finished up over at the Old State Capitol with the wrought iron gate and lights Kristin loved. These two have been through a lot already and maybe do things a bit untraditionally, but they have done it their way and I don’t think they could be any happier about it. Congrats to Kristin and Jeff! Thank You Jeff, as well, for your service to our country! Be safe!

Warm Regards, 
Lauren

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