Erin and John were set up at a Hawkeye tailgate in 2021 by mutual friends. “We just met, hung out, and then never stopped,” Erin said. It was just about a month later when John went to her house for a date night. “She made dinner and we hung out late talking afterwards and I remember driving home thinking without a doubt she would be the woman I marry.”

This past December, John proposed while they watched a true crime documentary. Allow me to give some context. It was the day after Christmas. John was back at work and Erin, a teacher, spent the day at home relaxing after the busy holiday week before school started back up again. John knew he was going to propose over the holiday season and wanted to surprise her at their house with just the two of them. “I ended up meeting up with my brother and a friend after work for a drink on the 26th and decided before leaving that when I got home, I was going upstairs and getting the ring out,” he said.

“When he got home, I asked if he wanted to open his Christmas presents but he declined, saying my present hadn’t come yet,” Erin added. “We started watching the second to last Taylor Swift Era’s Tour documentary episode. I wanted to save the last episode for another night; I didn’t want it to end. So we started watching a true crime documentary. John paused the show and got down on one knee! Looking back, he was acting weird that night, but I thought maybe he had too much fun at happy hour. Turned out, he was just a little nervous. He had planned on proposing during the Taylor documentary, but when I didn’t want to watch the last episode yet, true crime was the winner!” (If you remember, the second to last episode is emotional–it’s the one about her grandmother, Marjorie–and John said, “That episode was kind of sad and I was trying to get her to watch the last episode to boost the vibe. She was tired and decided to throw a murder doc on instead.” I laughed and said that it all was very real life in the end. Every great couple watches true crime together.)

Their wedding is coming up in August and we knew their engagement session would be a bit pre-green in nature, but they picked the fossil gorge for their location, which is a great spot to use all year around, but especially when the natural elements (like full green trees) are lacking. The mix of textures (rocks, water, grasses) really pulls through there when colors don’t.

This little tiny peninsula (we call it an island, but it’s not actually) below is a favorite spot for my kids to play, but you can only get to it when the water is low enough. When I was scouting this out for them, I envisioned exactly how I wanted to place them on the island and how I wanted to shoot it, but the water was too high to get out there. Then I remembered that there’s one other way to get to it, but it’s on a very narrow path covered in poison ivy. Luckily for us, we were there in March, pre-poison blooms so I led the way out there and got them placed, then ran back to where I wanted to be, and then I internally screamed with joy at how exactly perfect it all was. I’m always thankful for clients who, without hesitation, trust that my ideas will be worth it.