Sam and John’s easygoing, happy engagement session

Even though it’s winter now, I’m so excited to share some pictures from Sam and John’s fall engagement session! It’s fun to see those autumn foliage colors again and remember how lovely fall is here in Minnesota. Sam and John are getting married in the fall of 2022, and they loved the idea of doing their engagement session during the same time of year as their wedding so that there’s a bit of continuity in their pictures! 

Sam and John will be getting married at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Sam and John absolutely love the Arboretum and were so excited to do part of their engagement session there. They also chose to do the other part of their engagement session in their home. They recently moved in here together and they were so excited to create portraits that document their daily lives together with their sweet cat. Sam and John told me that they wanted portraits that felt organic, relaxed, and really authentic to who they are (which is exactly what I love to create!). 

Sam and John’s engagement portraits 

We started off Sam and John’s engagement session by exploring a few of the gardens around the Arboretum. Sam brought along a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, which was such a beautiful tie-in to their future wedding! It felt like a really happy, easygoing adventure  – Sam and John would point out something they felt drawn to in the landscape, and we’d head over to check it out and take a few pictures. 

We spent a little bit of time underneath this big willow tree. I love how the breeze was moving through the leaves! It created a really cool texture that added a little visual interest to the background of these pictures. 

When we got to Sam and John’s home, we changed the pace a bit and created portraits that felt extra happy, mellow, and laid back! We talked about what sorts of things they liked to do together at home, and they decided to spend some time mixing cocktails and chatting in their kitchen. Then we headed into their backyard (where they love spending time together!) to take a few portraits out there. I love that these pictures capture something that they do all the time. 

Sam and John, it was so much fun creating these portraits with you! I loved getting to adventure around the Arboretum together and getting to see what your lives together look like at home. Thank you for trusting me with your engagement session. You were lovely to work with and I am SO excited to photograph your wedding this fall!