This post (along with many others) is extremely overdue. As 2016 started (and quickly rolled on), I had set up some goals for myself; blogging on a regular basis was originally one of those goals. And yet, as January passed and February has been speeding by, I have been going back and forth on whether or not that is actually something that I should, and want to be doing. I have more or less had this particular post written for over a month at this point, but have been indecisive in terms of the wording and layout, and if keeping a blog is worthwhile for me right now. I've decided to attempt to plug away at posting on a regular basis (mostly since I have such a huge backlog of images I want to share right now), though I'll likely keep things extremely simple and stick to the images for the most part.
With all that said, to start things off I am going to share images from one of my favorite shoots of last year. Back in November, while home in Minnesota for Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of being asked to photograph one of my longest and best friends, Alec, and his beautiful fiancé, Emily.
Alec and I have been friends since junior high, and we have been part of the same group of friends since that time. It is a tight knit group of people, and I have often joked (with a strong hint of seriousness) that the approval of this group in regards to my significant others is just as important as that of my immediate family members.
Although I don't know if Alec thinks the same thing, I can definitely say that we approve of Emily. Emily is a ball of joy, and you cannot help but smile when you are around her. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know her on the few occasions that I get home to Minnesota, and I am proud to now be able to consider her a friend.
Alec went above and beyond on the engagement ring, and worked with a local jewelry designer to design a ring just for Emily. The main stone is a sapphire, with a precious diamond on either side. It looked absolutely stunning with the hint of snow around, the golden evening light, and Emily's vibrant green jacket.
We spent most of the engagement session walking down the Browns Creek Trail, in my hometown of Stillwater. The trail used to be railroad tracks, for a very slow dinner train that followed Browns Creek around the Stillwater area. When we were kids we used to roam around on the tracks, even though we weren't necessarily supposed to. I have lots of great memories from along this trail, so it was fun to shoot an engagement session in those locations.
We also ventured onto the golf course for some images at the end of the shoot, which was another important place for a lot of us Stillwater friends while growing up. In fact, the other friends whose engagement session I photographed had their wedding reception in the clubhouse of this golf course.
We ended the evening (appropriately) at a coffee shop in downtown Stillwater. Emily wanted to incorporate some string lights into that portion of the shoot, and I'm so glad she suggested it. The ring just looks stunning with that warm, golden light on it!
Thank you to Emily and Alec for inviting me in on this portion of your adventure together! I am so excited for the two of you, and cannot wait to see how your lives grow together from here.
And with that, here we go on this next blogging journey of mine. I would love to hear from anyone that decides to stop by, so leave a comment below! Have a wonderful weekend!