They nervously giggled + held each other as we began the session. I told them, “I’m affirming the nerves — everyone feels this way when they first get in front of the camera!” I don’t think Carson believed me at first, however ; ) As Caleb + I walked back to our car a couple of hours later, when our time with Carson + Alexandra had come to an end, I turned to him + said, “How BEAUTIFUL was that?! I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone come SO alive during a session.” It’s true : ) All it took was 20-30 minutes + these two were in their own little world — a really good, romantic, beautiful, love-FILLED world. All it took was permission for Carson to show his love for his future wife + goodness, he was all in : ) He held her + just gazed at her … and I can’t count how many times we caught him whispering to her, “You are SO beautiful. I love you SO much.” I am just overwhelmed with joy + thankfulness when we experience (+ get to capture!) moments in people’s stories like this : )

After having class all day, Carson sped (not really, but you get the idea) to meet us all in Madison for this engagement session! We totally relate to these two in doing the long-distane thing through all of the dating years!! SO hard + SO good all at the same time!! It was Alexandra’s birthday weekend, so Carson was in Madison to spend the whole weekend celebrating her and, of course, why not start that celebrating off with your engagement session!?! Perfect idea to me!! : ) We spent the evening wandering around the famously breathtaking Wisconsin Arboretum where the trees had just begun turning color!! It is a simply gorgeous session that I am so excited to share on the blog today!! Enjoy!!

Ahhhhhhh!!!

This tree is dedicated to Alexandra’s grandfather at The Arboretum — it’s also where her grandmother’s ashes were spread after she passed, so getting photos here was very important for this soon-to-be-family : )

Some favorites!!

I love this tree!!! So pretty!

And then we waited … until we got THIS glow!!

Just TOO good looking!!!