In case you were wondering how to properly balance effortless + elegant for a barn wedding, we're gonna DING DING DING Abby and Keane's big day for you. (But when your bride has such a knack for attention detail, can you really be surprised it was all pulled off so beautifully?)

You know you're gonna ace an engagement session when you put the camera down for a moment, and you still hear laughter.

OH, FER CUTE.
See also: Matt + Amy's maternity session.
Also filed under: How to look adorable when several months pregnant.
Synonyms: Sweet. Joyous. Playful. Glowy. 
Author's opinion: That little babe is oh, so lucky.

CONGRATS, MOMMA AND POPPA R!

GUYS, LOOK.
(My mind scrambles a bit when I try to put into words how much I adore these two + this session, but I've at least managed a couple of caps locked words to grab your attention, eh?)

If you look closely, there's a tear that has slipped over the side and has slid down Elizabeth's cheek as she laughs during the ceremony.
And I absolutely adore it.
Because that means moments before, her beloved's vows were so moving, so sincere, that that little tear was obligated to bloom and fall. And it means that seconds later, there was joy, and there was laughter.

It's delightfully amusing to me, the things that will stand out from a wedding weeks after it has passed. When it's no longer freshfresh and the day has had it's time to settle in the cracks of memory. They're usually the small moments and short phrases, the significance of which is impossible to gauge at the time. 

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING TOMORROW?

THINK FAST.
Hitting you with three reasons this afternoon why I love this anniversary session:

Katie and Aaaaron
Sittin' in a tree[swing] 
K-I-S-S-I-N-G

HOLY WHAT.
Is that what you're thinking?
Because that's what I'm thinking + have been ever since Liz + Jordan's dreamy sunflower field session.

After a lifetime in the PNW, L + J are a couple of recent transplants to rural Wisconsin. In chatting about our session, Liz knew she wanted it to look + feel like the Midwest to mark this time in their lives with some new surroundings. In particular: fields is what were callin' her name. (Easy peasy round these parts, eh?) We scheduled a session for September and everything was set. Until Instagram ruined things in the best possible way. 

WHAT. I found a sunflower field 4 hours away in Wisconsin. WHAT. I'm free tomorrow + so are they. WHAT. This weekend is the last + only time the park is open. 

An impromptu road trip and spontaneous shoot later, this is what happened.
And it happens to be one of my favoritefavorite e sessions to date.
(Holy what. Holy scroll.)

As any wedding photographer will tell you, it is entirely possible to have a crush on a couple. It usually occurs during the engagement session, when everyone is relaxed and happy, yet just the right amount of nervous. It shows up in the way they laugh with one another, they way they laugh with you, and through the flow of easy conversation. The crush status then becomes solidified when your sweet couple is willing to run onto a roadway with big smiles + sparklers in pursuit of some ballin' photos.

Once upon a time I worked at a portrait studio north of town. I was the Photoshop girl + a grad portrait photographer. Once upon a time, the same time actually, Miss Linnea was one of the hundreds of seniors that walked in the studio door and sat down in front of my camera. We ran way over time. We ran all over the gardens, through fields of wildflowers. And I had one of my faaaavorite favorite senior sessions of all time. &Do you wanna know how one reaches that hall of fame status? With sweet smiles, lots of laughter, and a "SURE, let's try it!" attitude. Seven or so years later and we're doing a round two, this time with a fiancé thrown into the mix. ROUND 3 (!!!) will have these same lovebirds hosting an elegant + easygoing party in barn for their closest friends and family. They're clearly my kind of people; June can't come around again quick enough.