I have been asked on more than one occasion "How do you get your clients to look so natural?" The truth is - I allow them to "be natural" and it is my job to simply capture that. I don't do too much directing during sessions unless I can tell that the people being photographed need or want direction. I am blessed to have a number of couples that simply have great chemistry together in front of the camera. These two? TOTAL naturals.

Matthew and Shannon have the sweetest story. They were friends for a long time, began dating, and were engaged very quickly. I have a soft spot for those stories that involve "just knowing," and wasting zero time making it official! (My parents met and were engaged one month later, married just one month after that and are still married to this day.) Matthew is probably the most transparent person I have ever met - it is no surprise to me that he wasted no time after he had made up his mind to ask Shannon to be his bride. These two love children, serving the Lord, and being with each other. I am honored to have been invited to capture their big day and can't wait to see what God has planned for their lives together!

Here are just a few of my favorites from their engagement session:

I can't wait for their wedding in June!

I know I gave a little sneak peek a few weeks ago, but I wanted to share the rest of this fun engagement session. When I asked these two what they enjoyed doing together they immediately answered "cook and take our dogs to the dog park." Well, that's easy! We decided to have them cook a fun meal (note to self: don't ever go to an engagement session [with food] on an empty stomach again!) and then head out to the back yard for some play time with their pups. I love that their session incorporated so much of their personalities and hobbies. This is something I really would like to start doing with all of my couples.

We started in their adorable vintage-style kitchen:

Seriously, guys. He adores her:

I know it looks like they were doing a lot of flirting and kissing (they were!), but they really were cooking something delicious, too! Here's some proof:

And then, they made a date of it in their (full of light) dining room. Pour some wine and feed each other! Now that's romantic. ;)