Fort Snelling Engagement Photography | Alyssa & Adam | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

Adam and Alyssa both work at a resort in northern Minnesota. The first meet as they were working at the resort; Alyssa really had a crush on him first but nothing happened until Adam took a different position in business and that's when they started to become friends.  Building on their friendship they started to grow closer and closer until they decided to start to date.

Last January, they decided to escape the minnesota harsh winter and headed to Arizona to visit family out there. Unfortunately they encountered a colder Arizona with plenty of snow and it ended up being warmer in MN the week they were gone! While they were there toward the end of their trip Alyssa had lost hope of him proposing because she thought "he would have already done it by now". As they went on a hike to enjoy their remaining vacation, Alyssa started to worry they were lost! She took out her map and start to try and figure out where they had ended up on the trail. While she was busy working on making sure they didn't die in the vast Arizona wilderness, Adam sneakily set up a camera and video to capture the coming moments.  Now Adam announced it was time for a photo because they had hardly taken any on their trip. After a couple of attempts that "weren't good enough" Adam told Alyssa that they were going to do one more. Setting the camera on a timer Adam hurried back to Alyssa's side and as they waited for the camera to click Adam got down on one knee and asked Alyssa to marry him. She said YES!

Their engagement session took place on the trails of Minnesota's Fort Snelling with their little pup Nova. Nova was sure to pose for us when we were motivating her the whole time with Cheeros! WIth the help of Alyssa's sister Angie, we had a great time shooting in beautiful 40's weather which is unseasonably warm for this time of year! While they were holding the bag of cheero's Alyssa kept saying how much she felt like she looked like a mom. I (along with Adam and Alyssa) are super excited for their fall wedding later this year!

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! 

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 ;).