Ashley & James | Beautiful Outdoor Engagement Session at Turtle River State Park | Grand Forks Wedding Photographer

Ashley & James | Beautiful Outdoor Engagement Session at Turtle River State Park | Grand Forks Wedding Photographer

Earlier in the Summer, I held a contest on my social media for a giveaway of one of my Engagement Session Experiences for FREE to 2 lucky couples. The dozens of entries I had come in were narrowed down to a handful of Finalists by the required conditions and rules of the giveaway. From that small number of finalists, Ashly & Jame’s story stood out to me and after an initial zoom chat…they were chosen as 1 of the winners.

We planned for a fun outdoor session in the nature of Turtle River State Park. We couldn’t have been any luckier with the evening we got either. It was sunny, calm, and in the low 80’s. The only thing that kept it from being perfect was the constant swarm of ladybugs that followed us for the first half of our shoot!

All three of us were in the water at some point and I seriously thought I’d be the one that fell all the way in…but all went well and we were able to get some awesome shots! We also were blessed with a wonderful sunset as we hiked up a hill to get a few last shots.

I love working with adventurous couples like Ashly and James and I had so much fun on our shoot with them!

I’m honored and excited to be shooting their upcoming 2024 wedding and I know it’s gonna be a blast!

If you’re engaged and searching for a photographer who specializes in working with awesome couples to preserve their “once-in-a-lifetime” memories and create their very first family heirloom…then contact me and tell me about yourself!

Jessica and Casandra | Beautiful Duluth Fall Engagement Session at Banning State Park | Duluth Wedding Photographer

Jessica and Casandra | Beautiful Duluth Fall Engagement Session at Banning State Park | Duluth Wedding Photographer

Earlier in the Summer, I held a contest on my social media for a giveaway of one of my Engagement Session Experiences for FREE to 2 lucky couples. The dozens of entries I had come in were narrowed down to a handful of Finalists by the required conditions and rules of the giveaway. From that small number of finalists, Jessica & Casandra’s story connected with me on many levels and after an initial zoom chat…they were chosen as 1 of the winners.

We planned and set a date for me to drive over to Banning State Park (which is about a 4.5 hour drive for me) and came up with a super fun gameplan. On the day of our scheduled shoot, however, we were thrown a curveball that it would be raining most of the day. After chatting…we decided to go ahead and still have me drive down for the shoot.

We got started a bit late AND the cloud cover made it get darker sooner than we’d planned so we had to alter our plans and focus on the shots we REALLY wanted. It WAS raining most of the time but the trees gave us great coverage. I had a blast walking around in the forest with Jessica & Casandra (it reminded me of growing up in Michigan and being in the woods every day).

We found a beautiful spot at the base of a waterfall and the couple was adventurous and willing to climb on rocks, get in the water, and whatever else it took to get some epic photos!

Lack of time aside…We lucked out and seriously couldn’t have asked for a better evening for a photoshoot! Since it was raining out, we pretty much had the entire park to ourselves!

We literally used every ounce of light we had and ended up hiking a mile or so back to our vehicles in the pitch-black darkness through the forest. I loved it!

Jessica & Casandra were so much fun to work with that after chatting, we’ve decided to work together again for their 2024 wedding in the Duluth area! I can’t wait to see the shots we get on their special wedding day!

If you’re engaged and searching for a photographer who specializes in working with awesome couples to preserve their “once-in-a-lifetime” memories and create their very first family heirloom…then contact me and tell me about yourself!

Payton and Harold | Elegant Duluth Summer Engagement Session | Duluth Wedding Photographer

Payton & Harald | Duluth Summer Engagement Session at Enger Park| Duluth Wedding Photographer

Earlier in the Spring, I held a contest on my social media for a giveaway of one of my Engagement Session Experiences for FREE to a lucky couple. The dozens of entries I had come in were narrowed down to a handful of Finalists by the required conditions and rules of the giveaway. From that small number of finalists, Payton & Harold’s story connected with me on many levels and after an initial zoom chat…they were chosen as winners.

One of the things about their story that stood out to me was that they were set to get married at Enger Park in Duluth, MN which is the exact same place that my wife Sherry and I were married in 2014! It’s such an amazing place with a beautiful view of Duluth’s Canal Park and Lake Superior as a backdrop. One of the other things that drew me to Payton & Harold was the fact that they were willing to be adventurous and wanted to work with me to get some epic shots.

We planned and set a date for me to drive over to Duluth (which is about a 4.5 hour drive for me) and came up with a super fun gameplan. On the day of our scheduled shoot, however, we were thrown a curveball and ALMOST didn’t get to have our session. 20 minutes into my trip, my truck blew a tire and of course the jack supplied with my truck to change the tire was faulty and my spare was basically flat too! After a 2 hour wait and $160 later…I was back on the road and made it to our shoot with about 20 minutes to spare.

We lucked out and seriously couldn’t have asked for a better evening for a photoshoot! It was 78 degrees with no wind at all and a crystal clear sky! We had an amazing time hitting some of Duluth’s most beautiful notable spots from Enger Park/tower, Quarry Park, & Point Park Beach.

We timed everything perfectly and had one of the most epic sunsets on the beach I’ve had for a photoshoot yet!

Payton & Harold were so much fun to work with that after chatting, we’ve decided to work together again for their fast approaching August 5th wedding in Duluth! I can’t wait to see the shots we get on their wedding day!

If you or someone you know is interested in my Engagement session giveaway contests…be sure and follow my INSTAGRAM for details and announcements!

If you’re engaged and searching for a photographer who specializes in working with awesome couples to preserve their “once-in-a-lifetime” memories and create their very first family heirloom…then contact me and tell me about yourself!

Intimate Urban Downtown Grand Forks Elopement | Grand Forks Wedding Photographer

Intimate Downtown Grand Forks Elopement At Sky’s Restaurant | Grand Forks Wedding Photographer

Bailey and Payton reached out to me in January asking about engagement photos. We immediately started planning for our session and hoping for a break in the frigid arctic temperatures we were having so we could get some fun outdoor images in the snow.

We finally got some temps in the upper 20’s in Mid February, so we set our session date for the 10th. After meeting downtown, we began and quickly found out that the slight breeze was making it quite colder than we were hoping so we had fun alternating between outdoor photos and going inside to warm up. I had so much fun getting to know Bailey and Payton as we ventured all around the downtown area and got some awesome shots as we warmed up inside The Urban Stampede and The Spud Jr.

While chatting with them over a drink at The Spud Jr, I asked about when and where their upcoming wedding would be. They told me it was actually that evening at Sky’s restaurant (In about 2 hrs)!! After that little surprise, we discussed it and I was thrilled I was gonna be able to photograph their intimate little elopement!

It is the first time since I’ve been photographing weddings that I shoot engagement photos AND the wedding on the same day!

We took a little break and I later met them downtown in their private event room at the beautiful Sky’s Restaurant. Their elopement ceremony was short and sweet as they exchanged vows, rings, and a first kiss as husband and wife in front of their families.

It was quite an adventurous afternoon and I’m so happy to have been a part of it. It was an honor meeting Bailey, Payton, and their families.

Congrats to the new couple! Thanks so much for choosing me to capture your wedding day memories!

If you are recently engaged and looking for an experienced professional photographer to capture the emotions and memories of your big day…just reach out and say HI and let’s chat!!

Now Booking 2023 & 2024 Weddings!