Tom and Jenn | October Engagement

Last October, Tom reached out to us with his plans to propose to his girlfriend, Jenn. He wanted to schedule an engagement session shortly after the proposal in order to capture the beautiful Fall colors in Traverse City. The moody sky made for an even more dramatic contrast to the pops of color amongst the trees. Tom and Jenn even brought along their sweet pup to join in a few of the photos. We loved capturing and celebrating their sweet October engagement with them. Check out some of our favorites below.

Fall Color Engagement | Adam and Laura 2.0

After getting rained on during their original engagement session date, we decided to schedule a second session for Adam and Laura to hopefully spend a bit more time capturing portraits of the two of them and their sweet pup, Callie. In case you missed it, you can check out their rainy engagement photos HERE first, and then come back to take a look at their Fall color engagement portraits. We had beautiful weather and gorgeous colors on this day, much different than our grey and rainy twenty-minute session before. We had so much fun getting to hang out with them twice and capturing two very different scenes and circumstances with them. It just made us all the more excited for their wedding!

Rainy Engagement | Adam + Laura

When Adam and Laura made the drive up to Glen Haven for their engagement session, the forecast threatened some light sprinkles but claimed it would all pass through before we began their session. However, as those who live in Northern Michigan know, living on the lake means unpredictable weather. We made the drive out anyway and met them at the beach to scope out the weather and see if it would hold off. Alas, the forecast now showed a promise of rain through the night.

We proposed the idea to Adam and Laura of postponing their main engagement session until later in the year. They agreed but since they had driven all that way, we still wanted to have some fun with the situation. We asked them if they would be up for playing in the rain with us for twenty minutes just to see what we could create.

This rainy engagement session turned into one of my all time favorites. We are so thankful for adventurous couples who trust our vision, despite what the circumstances might look like. Thanks to Adam and Laura for frolicking in the rain with us and being the perfect subjects for a moody, romantic engagement session. Scroll on through to see some of our favorites.

Mackinac Island Proposal | Michael + Caitlin

We were so excited to learn that Michael's surprise Mackinac Island proposal would almost perfectly coordinate with our trip to Mackinaw City for a wedding a few days prior. After we finalized some details with Michael, we decided to plan on staying a few extra days after the wedding so we could be there for Michael and Caitlin's special moment. It was the most perfect day and lovely ferry ride to the island. We had blue sky and lilacs blooming all around the island. We arrived quite a bit early in order to soak in the beauty of the island ourselves, and to scout out the ideal position for the actual proposal. We sneakily texted with Michael all throughout the day and sent him some photos and videos on how to access the spot. And then.. we waited. Lots of people passed through the small garden that afternoon, but thankfully Michael had sent us a couple photos of him and Caitlin so we knew exactly who to look for. When they finally came around the corner of the garden, Miles and I walked around and posed as a normal couple enjoying the garden. We secretly kept a close eye on Michael and Caitlin as they chatted and when he finally dropped to one knee, we immediately started photographing them from a distance. We let them enjoy that moment and soak it all in until Michael finally pointed us out to Caitlin and introduced us. From there we made our way around the island for a mini engagement shoot and wrapped up just before their planned dinner at the Grand Hotel.

It was such an honor to be entrusted with capturing such a special moment. Congratulations to Michael and Caitlin once again! We wish them all the best!

Glen Haven Engagement | Ben and Joanna

Glen Haven Engagement

This Glen Haven Engagement was one we will remember forever.

I will never not be excited about this session, this couple, and these photos.

We've known Ben and Joanna for a number of years now. Besides being fellow photographers in the area, Ben and Joanna are great friends of ours. They are some of the coolest (and some of the most good-looking) people we know. Whenever we are with Ben and Joanna we can't help but laugh and be ourselves. Whether we run into them at our mutual favorite coffee shop (shout out to Mundos Roasting & Co.), photograph their beauty, or enjoy a double date, we know we are bound to have a good time with these two.

When we were looking for a photographer, Ben and Joanna immediately came to mind. We loved having them photograph our engagement and wedding. When the time came for their engagement and wedding, we were honored to photograph them in return!

We had so much fun adventuring Glen Haven and hiking some dunes for their portraits. We feel so blessed to have friends like Ben and Joanna. Though I could go on and on about their beauty and the love these two share, I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Follow along on our Instagram adventures!

Adam and Kelly Proposal

Adam and Kelly

Adam and Kelly have the sweetest love story, and we just love them together. This shoot will always and forever hold a dear place in our heart. Adam is my (Sarah's) younger brother and Miles' best friend. We got to know Kelly while they were dating and she quickly became one of my best friends. When Adam reached out with his plans to propose, we were over the moon. The week leading up to the proposal, Miles and Adam trekked down the steep snowy slope to scout out the location. Together they found the perfect spot for Adam and Kelly as well as hidden locations for us to shoot the proposal in stealth.

Brown Bridge

The day came and we arrived to the location early. The snow had slightly melted and then refroze so the path down was more like an ice skating rink. I'm embarrassed to say that I (Sarah) had a wipe out on the way down and nailed my head on a tree root when I fell. However, nothing was going to stop me from capturing and celebrating this moment with my brother and his soon-to-be fiancée. Miles helped me back up, brushed the snow off and we continued to our respective hiding spots. We sat and waited, fingers going slightly numb in the cold and butts most definitely soaked through from sitting in the snow. Still, all of that was hardly noticeable to us in the wake our anticipation. After a little while, we heard a loud 'careful Kelly, it's slippery!' from Adam. That was our cue!

The Proposal

At the bottom of the hill, Adam took her by the hand and they looked out at the view while he chatted with her briefly. By the time he got down on his knee with the ring, I was already a mess of silent tears. We remained hidden the entire time so they could have their moment alone. Kelly had no idea that we were there, and even when Adam pointed out the spots we were hidden, they could only just see the edge of my boot from behind a tree. It wasn't until they continued on their hike and were well out of sight that we emerged and went on our way. We were able to celebrate them later which was so fun. It was so special to capture this proposal for some of our favorite people. We also both had the honor of standing in their wedding last October. We love Adam and Kelly!

Location | Brown Bridge