the blog
Justin reached out to me to set up the most gorgeous Bellafete Proposal in downtown Kansas City! He wanted the afternoon with Andi to be perfect! Bellafete is a luxury event planning service, and they did an INCREDIBLE job bringing Justin’s vision to life! Once you see the photos below you’ll understand what I mean by ‘gorgeous!’
Bellafete also put together a luxury picnic to help surprise Andi! This included champagne and a light snack for the two of them to share. They also had a frosted glass sign set up at the scene that read “will you marry me?”!
If you’re wondering if the bride-to-be was surprised, the answer is YES. Andi thought they were meeting up with Justin’s coworkers for a company picnic at the memorial – she was completely surprised and overjoyed when he asked her to marry him. We headed to a spot with the most perfect skyline to add some variety to their session after she said yes. And then we came back to the park to pop the bottle of champagne!
I loved everything about this Bellafete proposal and working with their company was such a pleasure!
Jamaica and Aidan booked a session with me during my Spring minis! I hosted the sessions at Shawnee Mission Park! This afternoon was gorgeous, it felt like the sun was somehow extra glow during golden hour. And we couldn’t get enough!
Aidan and Jamaica fit together like puzzle pieces. In the short session I had with them, their love was obvious for one another. You wouldn’t question anything spending 10 minutes with them! This made it so easy to let their love do the work! I gave them fun prompts so they were always moving around and being playful! I love the images we captured!
I found out a month after these Spring minis, Aidan proposed to Jamaica in Amsterdam! She obviously said yes and now they are busy doing all the fun wedding planning! Congrats to you both! This afternoon was a blast and I feel so lucky to have met you both!
Alexandra and Lauren had never had photos professionally taken of the two of them before reaching out to me! I love helping new clients realize that having photos taken is way easier than it looks, and doable for everyone! These two were a little nervous but warmed up so quickly & we had the best session at Loose Park Rose Garden!
Loose Park Rose Garden is one of my favorite locations in Kansas City- the park is big and has a variety of different locations; the rose garden, the pond, wide open field, and super tall trees. 10/10 recommend. Loose Park does require a $30 photo permit pass to shoot there, but it’s worth the trip & time you spend!Â
On this beautiful spring day, the red bud tree was our favorite spot! The color really complimented Lauren and Alex’s outfits! This was the perfect time of year for a session here due to the flowers being in bloom! Literally stunning!
Thank you Lauren & Alex for the best night at the park! So happy I was able to do this session for you 🙂
If you’re wondering if you can include your beloved pup in your photo shoot, the short answer is YES. (In fact I LOVE it!!!) If you’re wondering some logistics about engagement photos with dogs though…
Here’s some fun tips on how to get engagement photos with dogs involved!
1. Have a friend to help! They can entertain the dog while you get photos of just the two of you!
2. Bring plenty of treats and a toy – this will help get the dogs attention in front of the camera and gives them a nice reward for being a good boy.
3. Don’t stress! Animals will be themselves and do their own thing so just enjoy the moment and interact with you pet like you would at home! Showing off their personality will leave you with photos you will cherish even more!
I spent the evening with Logan, Drew and their dog Blu at Shawnee Mission Park! Dogs always add to the fun in engagement sessions and Blu didn’t disappoint! We tried to grab as many candid moments with mom and dad interacting with Blu because of how nice it is to have natural photos with your pup! I’d love to have you guys feel like you were at home on the floor playing with your dog instead of just posing for 30 minutes to get the “perfect” photo. I think the perfect photos are the ones that feel real and natural! That’s what I hope for getting engagement photos with dogs involved!
We grabbed a few photos of Logan and Drew at the end of the session for their save the dates!
Thanks so much to all three of them for being such great company! I loved everything about this night!
Even if you just elope you still deserve photos of you and your partner at this stage of life. Dress it up or keep it casual- do something that feels like YOU. Maica and Alfred did just that! They wanted spring wedding portraits the day after eloping!
We went to Spring Loose Park for their session and adventure around to everything it has to offer, which is A LOT! The gardens there are beautiful even when flowers aren’t blooming! Luckily for us though, they were! The park also had a pond we adventured around that was pretty central to the park.
Maica and Alfred had a super small, family-only ceremony and then the next day wanted couples photos to celebrate. Maica wore an adorable dress that was from Lulus. They both were so much fun, they were singing, dancing, and giggling throughout their entire session. Most of the time I’m not with my couples the day after they get married, but with Maica and Alfred, I’m so glad I was! This was the best day for Spring Wedding Portraits!
Thank you Maica and Alfred for being the best company!
Grace and Abby drove from St. Louis for their engagement session with me!! We started at the Nelson Atkins museum, followed by Casual Animal Brewery! We ended the session on a rooftop with a great view of downtown Kansas City! This session was so organic and true to the two of them. Having a beer downtown with good company and great conversation was the vibe was knew we wanted for them!
I met Grace through my sorority at Missouri State, and knowing they trusted me enough to shoot their engagement session after having to drive 4 hours felt like such an honor!
As I said above, we were able to use the Nelson Atkins museum as a great starting point for us! We utilized the steps and the giant Pilars right out front! There’s always great light bouncing off the building later in the day too so we took advantage of that!
Then, at Casual Animal Brewery, we grabbed a beer and made it more as if they were on a date! Truthfully, I’d love all my sessions with my couples to feel like you’re on a date! I want them to be that relaxed! We were able to get that done for Grace and Abby after a quick outfit change and their fav beers.
We ended this great night on a rooftop over looking the cities skyline! I feel like the rooftops in the city always go overlooked so I’m glad we had great weather and were able to take advantage of this space! Thanks Grace and Abby for making the trip! I loved spending this evening with you!
Megan and Nick had such a fun fall engagement session at Antioch Park in Kansas City! You guys know how much I love this park and all it has to offer! We started at the gardens, where luckily flowers were still blooming! Megan wore a long white wrap dress with nude heals and Nick wore a tan colored sweater with a dark pair of blue jeans!
The second half of the shoot Megan wore a light sweater while Nick wore a flannel!
They are actually getting married in July of this year at The Hawthorne House! I can’t wait!!
We spent the evening enjoying the nice crisp fall day. They didn’t have a lot of experience being in front of the camera so I guided them into poses that felt natural and kept them moving. It’s always about keeping everyone comfortable and feeling like themselves! They kept each other laughing which put all of us in a great mood and we had a lot of fun!
They ended their fall engagement session with popping a bottle of champagne to celebrate! I can’t wait to shoot their wedding this summer!
Daniella and Jack had the best Westbottoms Summer engagement session last year in Kansas City! The Westbottoms use to be a place for manufactured warehouses and is now all historic buildings! They have antique stores, lofts, studio spaces and even a few haunted houses in the fall!
As you can see it also makes a great space for an engagement shoot!
Daniella and Jack brought two outfits for the shoot that we picked out to compliment the spaces we were shooting at! The first spot was a huge underpass that even had string lights underneath! The whole space was both modern and industrial.
We then went to a brown stone building with a giant blue garage door! I love finding hidden gems in the most unexpected places!! And then we ended the shoot with some greenery! It was so fun just walking around and chatting with the two of them as we went from spot to spot! The Westbottoms Summer engagement sessions are one of my new favorites!
Thanks Daniella and Jack for hanging with me that evening!
