Coldwater Spring Park provided so many beautiful backdrops for their Jody and Carter’s photos.

Jody and Carter met in High School. They were both in NHS, the Astronomy Club, and had mutual friends, but they didn’t exchange phone numbers until graduation night. May of their Freshman year of college, they decided to make it official and start dating. Although they never actually dated in high school, they were still one another’s high school sweethearts.

To give you an idea of how awesome and adventurous these two are, they got engaged in Sardinia, Italy while watching some cliff divers “from the comfort of [their] floaties” as Jodi describes it. Carter pulled the ring out of nowhere and in the brilliant sun, floating off the coast of Italy, he asked her to marry him.

Their engagement shoot was at Coldwater Springs Park and we had such a blast. These two are so easy going and free spirited and I could tell how much they enjoy one another’s company. We got some beautiful shots all around the park, and even some with their dog, Zeus! Life is never boring with these two and I know their marriage will be such an adventure.

Katie and Marc were so fun to work with, always making each other laugh.

Reading the story of how Katie and Marc met, it’s easy to see that the stars just aligned for these two. They first met at UW Madison in 2006 when Katie, a senior, was in Marc’s first physics class he was teaching as a first year Ph.D grad student. After dating for a year, Marc went to France to finish his Ph.D and the couple decided not to do long distance. After a few reunions in Dallas, Texas, they lost touch until 2013 when Marc discovered that Katie was living in the same area of Illinois as him and emailed her asking to get coffee. After traveling all over the U.S and abroad, these two finally ended up in the same place at the same time. If that’s not fate, I’m not sure what is.

I flew out to Madison to do their shoot and from the minute I arrived I knew this was going to be an ideal couple to photograph. Katie and Marc were laughing and having a great time with each other during the whole shoot. Their connection was obvious not only to me but everyone around and is clearly exhibited in their photos. We did a good portion of the shoot at the capital building, which had really great lighting and beautiful architecture, producing absolutely awesome photos. Katie and Marc, you two really are the product of fate, and I’m so excited for your wedding!

The apple blossom trees were in full bloom during Vanessa and Dixon’s shoot.

The only thing we know about Vanessa and Dixon is that they love banana-oreo-vanilla-peanut butter milkshakes. The rest is a mystery.

It was so much fun that Rachael and Jim brought along their wonderful dog.

Rachel and Jim were brought together by the Blackhawks the night they won the Stanley Cup. They ended up in the same place because of mutual friends and Rachel noticed Jim and his “gorgeous smile” as she calls it right when she walked in. Although Jim had his eyes glued to the game, and Rachel left early because of class in the morning, Jim made a point to approach their mutual friend after Rachel had left and ask her number. It was later that week that they planned their first date!

Rachael says she loves that “we can do anything together and have fun whether it’s a night in or a night out or a Saturday morning spending time with our dog.” I was lucky enough to witness this in person during their engagement shoot. They were SUCH a fun couple, which made them so easy to shoot. They even brought along their newly adopted dog, Jade! We got some beautiful shots of the three of them with the fall colors as well as stunning pictures of Rachael and Jim on the Stone Arch Bridge and down on the banks of the Mississippi. I cannot wait to see what new kind of fun you bring to your wedding!