I first met Ryan and Nicole in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the evening before we were scheduled to shoot a wedding and we had met up with that bride and groom at the hotel with their wedding party, family, and friends for a few drinks. We were chatting about how excited we were for the next day's wedding and just general conversation and Ryan (who at the time was only dating Nicole) mentioned to us about how he was planning on proposing to Nicole in Ireland (how romantic is that?!) I loved how much Ryan had the proposal planned out and how great he was at keeping it a secret. It was all I could do to keep from smiling at Nicole the next day, knowing what was coming in a few months for them!
During that wedding it was so evident the chemistry this couple has together, and my fingers (and toes) were crossed that when the time came after she said "yes" they would consider me for photographing their big day! And then, that happened!! Obviously I was absolutely thrilled and extremely honored to be working with them for their engagement session and upcoming wedding in December.
But first, the engagement! Their session took place on a wild and crazy winter weekend, typical of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in January. We picked Marquette for their session and had to shoot with what nature was giving us (we couldn't really reschedule as Ryan and Nicole traveled from Milwaukee for the weekend just for the session). But the snow and wind (and even sun at some points, when the lake effect snow bands cleared!) made for an extra special session that I adore and absolutely will never forget!
So, here are some of our favorites from a ridiculous amount of images in their gallery.
We started off the session by shooting at Presque Isle in Marquette. One of my favorites. The moment we started shooting, the snow started to fall. And kept falling. And falling, more and more. But really, it made it SO amazing and magical!
This one is a total favorite <3
I HAD to capture a few of Nicole (I mean, her in this dress...SO gorgeous!) She had ordered this dress from Rent The Runway and it was perfection.
This doesn't even show how crazy the wind and snow was right here. This part of Presque Isle always is really windy when a North wind blows, so with the weather that day, I knew it would be a bit wild. It didn't disappoint and we froze. But it was 100 percent worth. it. all.
We retreated back to the cars and a different section of Presque Isle for things to be a little less windy and captured a few more images.
After Presque Isle, we ventured into downtown Marquette for some more shots.
I mean...these two. <3
We warmed up with some hot cocoa and treats at Donckers also in downtown Marquette. They have THE best chocolate covered caramels topped with sea salt. My weakness.
Then we headed to Ore Dock Brewing to continue thawing our frozen fingers and toes.
