Their original wedding plans involved both a wedding in India and a wedding in Wisconsin, but when COVID-19 hit and unraveled all their plans, they made do and decided to have an intimate ceremony here in Iowa City, where they live. Jasleen contacted me less than two weeks before their wedding, wondering if by chance I’d have their day open. I am so glad I did because it was such a delight to meet them and to get to celebrate with them in this perfect-though-not-their-original-dream wedding.
Jasleen & Rob met two years ago at Iowa State in the engineering program. They became study partners and now they joke they’ll be study partners for life, especially this first year of marriage as Jasleen finishes up her last few months of college, however that ends up looking during a pandemic.
While Jasleen’s parents weren’t able to make it from out of the country, her brother was there as well as Rob’s parents, sisters, and best friend. It was a small gathering, and filled with so much love and support for the start of Jasleen & Rob’s life together, officially, as husband and wife.
A few weeks ago, I got to photograph Becky and Chris’ family, and so when Chris’ sister, Laura, and her husband were visiting this past week, we had the perfect reason to get together again for some updated photos of the whole group. Between the first session and this one, Savi turned 3 and, since the two sessions were so close in timing, she remembered me and easily jumped right back into photo mode. Just look at this perfect little smile! The bribes did not have to come out until the last 10 minutes of photos, which is more than I can say for my own kids.
We had the most beautiful evening with gorgeous sun casting long shadows through the trees. It was a typically hot July day and, while the heat doesn’t just magically disappear at night around here, it at least becomes more bearable which made this session perfect.
Also, anyone looking for outfit inspirations for family groupings, take note here. No one matches and everyone coordinates. There are no pattern fights or tone clashes. They get 5/5 stars for wardrobe. 🙂
Annette reached out to me a few weeks ago, wondering if I could photograph their family when her daughter and son-in-law would be back in town. We had planned for a Saturday morning, but the forecast was looking terrible for Saturday so we made a quick call to reschedule to a Thursday evening and it ended up being absolutely perfect.
The Fulton family welcomed me onto their farm and it was so beautiful! Perfect summery light filtering through the trees, a beautiful front porch, classic red barn, and a sandy beach and stocked pond that they put in years ago.
It was so much fun to meet this family! Rick and Annette are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year and Taylor & David are celebrating their 5th anniversary so it was especially great to get photos of the couples together, as well as, of course, variations of all other pairings.
Many years ago, I met Becky at a styled shoot I did (she modeled for us) and now, years later, we got to reconnect! She’s married now and has a daughter who is just a few months older than mine. She and her husband are building a house so we started their session there which was so fun and will hopefully be so special once it is done being built to remember this time of waiting and anticipation. (This first shot is through where the fireplace will be!)
I have a lot of couples ask if they can bring their dog(s) along to their engagement session for a few photos. I end up photographing a lot of pups and yet, ironically, I don’t have any pets of my own! When it comes to photographing dogs, while I don’t have any experience as a pet owner, I do have a lot of experience as a photographer and I rely heavily on that to get the best reactions from both the animal(s) and the humans.
Here are 5Â tips if you plan on having your dog in your engagement photos:
1. Be realistic. What I mean is that animals are similar to children; they have short attention spans and are usually really excited to be in a new place (grass! trees! water! new smells! adventure!) with new people (me…with an exciting “toy” that I’m looking through that makes clicking noises). Expect that the first few minutes will simply be letting your dog explore a bit and get used to what is happening. Your dog may not look at the camera. Your dog may not want anything to do with your beautiful family photo. And that’s okay! Those happen to be my favorite photos! Play with your pup and let me capture real life for you. The imperfect is what makes it perfect.
Their first date was in December of 2017 and it was also the first time they met in person. He recalls being a little nervous at first, but mostly because he was afraid there would be awkward silence. As it turned out, the date went really well. They talked about their families, what they wanted in a partner, if they wanted kids, and a lot of other topics that, for some, might seem too deep for a first date, but for them, was just the confirmation they needed that they were a perfect match.
That first date led to many more dates and just a few months into their relationship, they were madly in love. Samantha describes realizing that what she felt for Zach was so genuine and deep. “[This wasn’t] the puppy love that everyone has growing up when you are dating someone and you think you are in love, but the love that is true and honest and so real that it almost knocks you off your feet.” Zach says that for him, it happened over time. “I started to know once we went from seeing each other every few days to every day. When, when we would spend a day of two apart, I would start to miss her and I knew I wanted to be with her and spend more time with her. Shortly after, we moved in together and it felt natural, like I was home.”
He proposed a year ago, May 14, 2019. “It was a Tuesday. Sam was working from 2-10 that night so I made plans to meet up with her dad and ask him for his blessing to marry his daughter. After he said yes, I had planned on waiting a day or two before asking her. However, on my way back to Cedar Rapids, I decided to do it that night. I stopped at the store and bought a bunch of candles, champagne, and some other supplies. Once I got home, I set up with candles all over our bedroom. I made a little sign for our dog, Max, to wear that said, ‘Will you marry my dad?'”
“When I got home,” Sam says, “I walked in through the garage and all the lights were on in the living room and kitchen, but I couldn’t see Zach. So I said, ‘Hello?’ and Zach yelled from the bedroom, ‘I’m upstairs!’ The door to our bedroom was closed almost all the way and when I opened the door, there Zach was, down on his knee with a ring box in his hand with hundreds of candles all over the room and our sitting on the bed with the sign around his neck. Zach started talking and I honestly don’t know what he said because I said, ‘Yes!!’ and hugged him before he could actually ask me to marry him! It was everything and more than I could have dreamed of. It was so simple and so perfect and intimate.”
Sam describes Zach as being kind and loving and easy going and Zach says that Sam is outgoing, loving, caring, and confident. They are both looking forward to seeing all of their loved ones and enjoying the food at their wedding, but most of all, “finally being able to be married to Sam” and “getting married to the love of my life.” They are a sweet couple who trusted me with complete confidence even when we had to make some last minute changes to our locations due to the crowds at the lake. I am so, so excited to get to celebrate with them this October as they finally become husband and wife!!!
