Louisa + Patrick // Adventure Engagement // Anchorage, Alaska

How do you follow up a destination wedding in Mexico? How about a trip to Alaska! When Louisa + Patrick first contacted us about their upcoming wedding in Cincinnati, we couldn't help but notice that they live in Alaska. After talking with them, we all agreed that the only way we could truly tell their story is if we photographed them in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Megan + Paul // Just For Fun.

We're pretty excited about the session (so much so that we blogged it out of order). This isn't an engagement session, per se. Let's go back probably six months… Mindy and I were sitting in Dorothy Lane Market (a fancy local grocery store with an awesome dining area and great food), minding our own business. Sort of… we noticed this couple down at the other end of the cafe. They were über stylish, they looked like they were in love, and they looked like they were saying goodbye. We watched as they embraced, and watched him leave, hop in his car, and take off. She sat there, silent, pretending to read. Maybe even crying a little bit. We joked about how we figured they were from out of town. People don't dress that well to go to the grocery here in Ohio. As we cleaned up our lunch and headed out to our car, we had a mini conversation about something our friend Andria Lindquist talked about earlier that week. She talked about her own boldness and how she will approach random people and ask them to take their photos. We said, "man, we should totally just ask them if they'll model for us…" as we started the car and began to drive away. At that point Mindy stopped me, and said, "Wait. Screw it, I'm going in there and asking. Do we have a business card?" To which I responded they way I usually do when I get that question. "Umm… not on us. But we have this napkin and a pen."

I waited in the car while Mindy gathered up the courage to walk in and talk to Megan. She told her about how we noticed them for their fashion sense, and then saw a little bit of their story unfold in front of us as they said goodbye. She asked Megan a little bit about their relationship, and if they would be interested in spending some time in front of our cameras, because we felt like they might be a good fit. Turns out they were engaged, but also graduate students working through a long distance relationship. And we were right, although Megan grew up here in Dayton, she is originally from England, and Paul is from Nashville. "That explains a lot," we thought.

Megan was actually surprisingly warm to the idea of doing photos with us, but with all of their traveling and studying, it was a crapshoot at best. Mindy thanked her, handed her the napkin (apologized for how unprofessional we are when it comes to business cards), and we went on our way. It felt good to step up and ask, even if we'd never hear from them again. We had done something new, something we had never done before.

Fast forward a number of months. At this point we had nearly forgotten about the whole thing. Obviously we would never hear from them, so we moved on. Then we got a surprise Facebook message from Megan, asking if we were still up for it. They were going to be in town visiting family, and her and Paul were interested in having their photos taken. Wow! It worked? We were able to coordinate a day that worked, we got the absolute perfect evening, and this is what happened.

Casie + Darrell // Lakeside Sunset Engagement // Dayton Ohio

The first engagement session of spring is always epic. We get all excited about the sun and the warmer weather, and it really inspires us to push ourselves creatively. Casie + Darrell were obviously inspired too. These guys are SO fun, and we're definitely looking forward to their wedding next weekend!

Sia + John // Airport Engagement // Springfield, Ohio

We met Sia several weeks before we were able to meet John. He works in New York, and Sia studies law here in Ohio. That's right, a classic long distance relationship. When we asked them "how would you define your relationship?" they answered with one word. "Travel." They're constantly flying back and forth to visit each other, and wedding planning happened on-and-off when John was in town.

We thought, "Man, we've always wanted to do a session with an airplane. This is the perfect opportunity." Sia and John were stoked on the idea, so we made some phone calls. We want to say a HUGE thank you to our friend Ben for letting us have unrestricted access to his plane. We definitely could not have done this without him.

Stay tuned for Sia + John's wedding coming later this summer!

Sarah + Justin // "Who you are"

Sometimes we have to explain ourselves. We don't always do everything just like the other guys. We encourage our couples to make it a priority to meet us in person before anyone signs any papers. Choosing your photographer isn't just about finding someone you can afford, or even someone who's photos you happen to like. It's not good enough that we can take pretty pictures, or even that we get a photo of your dad crying on the day that he gives you away. It's all about finding the perfect photographer for you and your wedding day. The relationship that we form with our couples is paramount to who we are and the way that we approach wedding photography. It's about a friendship, and it's about trust. We think it's critical that we get along, especially since we'll be spending your entire wedding day with you. We want to know who you are, not just your names. We hope that our photos depict who you are, not just what you look like.

Early on, we photographed a few weddings for couples that we had never even met before that day. It didn't work, and it wasn't us. It was a learning experience, but it didn't take long for us to figure out that wedding photography was not just about documenting some formalities and getting a decent paycheck. Wedding photography is about seeing and understanding the love, the friendship, the coming together of two families to celebrate, and so much more. Your story is unique, and We want to spend some time learning about you and what makes your relationship tick. Because of this, we include an engagement session with every wedding.

Honestly, it's a pretty dumb name for what we actually do. This casual, "pre-wedding" session is awesome, because we get to see you interact. We get to learn who you really are as a couple, and learn what works and what doesn't in terms of how you photograph. We study posing, lighting, apertures and sync speeds, but at the end of the day, every couple is a little bit different. You deserve that one-on-one attention. Getting the awkward part out of the way before your wedding day is a very good thing.

The photographs below are a small sample of the photos that we took of Sarah and Justin, and you won't see their faces in any of them. A little study about who they are, not just what they look like. Enjoy.

Kelsey + Andrew // Downtown Cincinnati Engagement

Admittedly, we don't know Kelsey and Drew very well yet. But from the short time that we spent with them hanging out, learning about their wedding, and shooting in downtown Cincinnati, I'm pretty sure we're going to get along great. What better way to become friends than getting kicked out of a public parking garage (right?) together? Stay tuned for their wedding coming this summer. Trust me, it's going to be beyond epic.