Sarah walked into the party and spotted a few people she knew. It was a “spotlight party” and the room was filled with a sea of green, yellow, and red shirts and outfit get-ups. Sarah wore green, which meant she was single. She pushed her way through the crowd, moving her long blonde hair away from her eyes when she noticed him – a guy at the party dressed in blue. Intrigued, she made her way towards him to introduce herself, wondering why on earth someone would show up to a spotlight party in blue. But it was that curious introduction that was perhaps exactly what Mark was hoping for in his color choice, and he knew it was one of his best decisions yet the moment he spotted Sarah walking towards him.

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The light was perfect for Sarah + Mark’s engagement session at Wittenbach Nature Center outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was anything but cold, however, as the temperature while shooting was 91 degrees with unbelievable humidity to match! The two of them took the heat like champions, even as we asked them to scoot closer and get cozier with one another.

Natalia made her way down to the ice after the game as the team took photos and reminisced about the season. Kevin played hockey for the Northern Michigan Wildcats, the hockey team of the school where they both attended – even more, the school where they had met. Sliding one foot in front of the other so as not to slip, Natalia found Kevin and embraced him in a congratulatory hug. She pulled back, noticing out of the corner of her eye that the guys on the team had formed a circle around them, each getting down on one knee. Natalie stood confused, turning back to Kevin to gain some sort of understanding about what was happening. Instead she found Kevin down on one knee – but directly in front of her, an open ring box in hand. Holding back tears, Natalia nodded quickly as the building echoed cheers and hockey sticks slapped the ice.

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The weekend  Natalia + Kevin’s engagement session rolled around, we texted nervously as the forecast was showing severe thunderstorms and rain for the day of the shoot. Studying the hourly forecast, we decided to pick the small window where it looked like the rain was supposed to hold off, and we prepped ourselves to be ready for the worst. In typical Upper Peninsula fashion, the weather decided to change it’s mind all together, and blue skies appeared near the end of our time giving way to a hot summer sun and humid air!

When Abby and Josh came to us last year with the idea of having two engagement sessions in two different seasons, we could have never imagined all of the goodness that would come from both. We would be lying if we said we hadn’t been a little nervous when we first considered the concept – the idea of doing the same type of session with the same two people twice felt like a large undertaking so as not to create two sessions that fell flat or seemed repetitive. Little did we know then the pure magic that is Abby + Josh.

With stylish button ups and flowing dresses and golden hair, these two epitomize summertime. Every warm sunshine feeling is felt when you notice the way they look at each other. To say they sparkle is an understatement. To say their love is captivating doesn’t even begin to convey it. It’s almost as if words fall flat when trying to describe the way they fit together.

We couldn’t have been more honored to have had the chance to create images in two different beautiful Michigan seasons with these lovebirds! Here’s to love and life and seeing these two tie the knot next summer. Cheers!

To see Part 1 of Abby + Josh, click here: The Winter Edition