Brittany and Jesse first met while she was on her way to work, and from that moment on, they both knew that what they had was something special. They both love going mountain biking, and really anything that the whole family can do together. Jesse has a 9 year old son, Tanner, and they all love having family time together. Brittany and Jesse both coach Tanner’s soccer team, and Jesse also coaches Tanner’s hockey team. Talk about an athletic family! The couple also spends a lot of their time supporting Tee It Up for the Troops, since they are both veterans!

I first met this couple in Maui during the Minnesotan Annual Potluck. My wife and I talked to Brittany and Jesse the majority of the time because we were the only two couples under the age of 50. Brittany took my business card just in case she might want to reach out to me in the future, maybe hinting at Jesse to pop the question! Luckily, Jesse proposed 9 months later on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Brittany said it was so romantic and they couldn’t wait to spend the rest of their lives together! And of course I got a call from them shortly after to take their engagement pictures!

I was really excited for this engagement shoot since I already met Brittany and Jesse in Maui. Tanner was kicking his soccer ball around the whole time and I loved looking at the plants with him. I bonded a lot with Tanner and by the end of the shoot he told me he wanted to be a photographer, just like me, which was pretty cool to hear a 9 year old say. This family was so energetic and we all had a blast shooting at Coldwater Spring Park. You can tell that this family has a really special bond that will last forever!

Kelsey and Robbie are simply great.  They’re my kind of people – adventurous, talented, always smiling, and they don’t take themselves too seriously. We all met up earlier this year on Maui. Since my wife and I live on the island during the winters, I was able to do a destination engagement photo shoot for Robbie and Kelsey when they took a trip out there in February. Unfortunately, the only day we were all able to meet also happened to be the only day it poured rain for hours and hours in Wailea where we were shooting. So we decided to give it another go this summer in Minnesota.

Kelsey and Robbie met me last week at the Wayzata Yacht Club to take some more engagement pictures on Lake Minnetonka. They were so much fun to photograph – playful and beautiful… the best kind of subjects! I learned that they met while skydiving. But of course!

When I asked them about their proposal story, Kelsey told me about how she’d almost ruined Robbie’s master plan by double booking their calendar, and how Robbie pulled it off anyway by sneaking off with her car to go “get gas” later that night. When he called her after a half hour with a supposed flat tire, she was a little miffed about having to go rescue him instead of getting ready for bed. I only hope she was wearing pajama pants when she left the house…

You see, Kelsey and Robbie’s first date didn’t go according to plan either. She ended up being sick on the day they were supposed to get together, so instead they made the best of it and decided to stay in and watch movies in their sweatpants. They called it Sweatpant Sunday.

Back to the night of the proposal (which was on a Sunday)… when Kelsey found Robbie, he was on the side of the road wearing a suit jacket, a nice shirt, a tie, and sweatpants. At first this irked her even more because she thought he’d been dilly-dallying around with outfits while he was supposed to be getting gas for her car, and this was just another thing preventing her from crawling into bed! But he simply took her hand and led her down a path that went behind the Carlson Towers, and that’s when she saw it – a pavilion decorated with romantic lights and flowers everywhere.

“Robbie got down on one knee and I immediately starting crying and said, ‘YES!’ probably about 100 times. It was a beautiful moment and all my frustration instantly disappeared. As we were walking back to the car, I said, ‘Well let’s get that tire fixed!’ and Robbie started laughing. Then he told me there was never actually a flat tire,” recalls Kelsey. From what I hear, her family might have called that last bit a “Kelseyism.”

Enjoy these engagement photos, you two! I can’t wait for your wedding!