Before I say anything about Megan & Ben’s story and how wonderful they are, I first need to tell you that the day we ventured out together to take these engagement photos was freezing. I’m serious, like 20-degrees-below-zero-with-windchill freezing. How awesome the pictures turned out, even in unfavorable weather conditions, is your first insight into Megan and Ben’s personalities and their relationship. They so joyfully trekked across ice shelves and the frozen Mississippi River, enjoying time together, regardless the circumstance.

Our frozen adventure made me realize that Megan and Ben really cherish every second that they have together. A chance for them to be together is a chance to celebrate, no matter the weather or situation. They are both extremely driven people, who motivate each other to work hard but also motivate each other to take necessary breaks, unplugged from work and outside thoughts, to just focus on each other. I really admire this in them. Witnessing a love like Megan and Ben’s, will always be worth bearing frigid temperatures.

They are truly the perfect pair, in so many ways. They both have similar interests: exploring yummy dinner and drink spots around the cities, tinkering with computers and electronics, being outdoors, and most importantly, the desire to never stop learning. They are alike, but not so much so that they don’t challenge each other – they help each other grow. Megan says that being with Ben helps her to drop the weight of the world off her shoulders. A smile and a hug from him has an amazing (“super” in her eyes) power to make everything better. It is obvious that Ben is willing to go great lengths to bring a smile to Megan’s face. The amazing proposal he planned for her makes that hard to deny. Stayed tuned for their wedding blog to hear more details!

Congratulations Megan and Ben! You two and your loving, adventurous souls are beautiful. Thanks for bearing the freezing temperatures with me! I’m down for round two if you are.

Before I go into detail about Rachel and Joe’s amazing love story and relationship, I feel like I need to address how awesome their engagement shoot was. Rachel and Joe’s engagement session was a picture perfect (literally) example of what a fall engagement photos should look like. Stunning bright yellow leaves covering the trees and the ground around them. The weather was cold enough for a sweater but also warm enough to dress up a little fancy, too. To top it off, they included their sweet dog Emma, who is not only adorable, but wore a scarf! Rachel and Joe made it impossible for this shoot to be anything but amazing.

After two minutes of witnessing Rachel and Joe’s chemistry and one look at their adorable dog, I was sold. But as I continued to learn more about them, I couldn’t help but fall in love with their relationship. I would describe it as powerfully simple. They met at work. It was Rachel’s first job out of college, and Joe helped show her the ropes around the company. Just two months into officially dating, Joe looked at Rachel calmly and said, “Someday I’m going to marry you.” They both knew that it was true. About five years after that, when the couple was vacationing in California, they made what they both knew to be true, official. While at a vineyard taking pictures for Rachel’s fashion blog, Joe suddenly handed the camera off to a friend. Joe walked over to Rachel, with a huge smile on his face, and told her how beautiful she looked. And before Rachel knew it, he was on one knee, with the ring, asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. She had to take a moment to catch her breath and say, “YES!” And before he even had time to put the ring on Rachel’s finger, it started pouring rain. If that isn’t magical, I don’t know what is.

I loved their shoot, I love their story, and I really love that these too know how to do something that many people don’t—keep it simple. They go through life appreciating the little things and enjoying them together. Rachel described their favorite thing to do together, aside from traveling, as spending Friday nights in with their dog Emma, a movie, pizza, and beer or whiskey. These two just get it. They love each other, they love experiencing new things together, they love their sweet dog, they love good food and drinks, and they just simply love doing life together. And I love that. Congrats you two! I am beyond excited for your wedding.

There are so many things that I love about Nina and Karen—their engagement story, future wedding plans, and relationship as a whole to start. But there are three specific things about them that really stuck out to me. Number one (the most important) is that they are head over heels for each other, and you can tell in a really genuine way. Witnessing and documenting a connection as real as theirs never gets old to me. Number two, they are just so themselves with each other and in front of the camera. It’s beautiful to take a photo, look at it, and be able to see a person as they truly are. This is exactly what happened with both Nina and Karen, except you’re able to see their relationships as it truly is, too. Which is really beautiful. Finally, these two are adventurous. They were down to sit, climb, or wander throughout all the gorgeous spots Minnehaha Falls has to offer. They even waded into the river as our photo shoot came to a close. The photos we captured there, with them standing in the rushing water, are some of my favorite Minnehaha photos to date. And I’ve taken a lot of photos at Minnehaha Falls. To top it all off, next September Nina and Karen are getting married up north in Lutsen, Minnesota. And on the morning of their special day, they have planned a sunrise kayaking photo shoot. How cool is that?

Congratulations again Nina and Karen! Thanks for reminding me the unbelievable beauty the outdoors has to offer, no matter what the season, and the power of adventure. You both are great. I’m already excited for September!

Laura and Michael are awesome for so many reasons. One thing that stuck out to me immediately is their ability to just go with the flow. You wouldn’t realize it by glancing at the photos, but the day of this shoot was actually super cold. We started our frigid session at the beautiful Boom Island Park, and within minutes we were approached by a stranger who couldn’t help but share his thoughts about the unconstitutional nature paying for parking at a public park. After that moment, I knew that weather and weird circumstances had nothing on these two, and we were going to have fun no matter what. And that is exactly what happened.

Laura and Michael are extremely friendly, lively, and enjoyable to be around. Their energy brought me energy, their joy brought me joy, and the warmth their love radiated made me forget about the freezing weather we were facing. Individually and as a couple, I see them being the light in any circumstance or situation. Which is a truly amazing quality to hold. Laura and Michael, congratulations! You two are special and so is your love. I cannot wait to document it more on your wedding day, where I know you will be spreading sunshine to everyone around you.