‘Tis the season and LOVE is in the air! I was never one to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but the girls love it and, well, I love them. So here we are-buying heart shaped earrings, t-shirts and getting flowers delivered for the big holiday. If you’re coupled up, here are some fun things you can do together during the month of February (and really all year long) that don’t involve a Netflix binge!
- Make a fancy Dinner together. I love to cook. So anytime I get to cook for someone else, other than my kids, it brings me happiness. I like to either look up a recipe or order a meal ready to prepare from one of the meal delivery services like Blue Apron. (not an affiliate link, it’s just one of my favorites!) Have kiddos at home? Make them a special kid friendly meal earlier in the night and off to bed they go so that ‘date night in’ can commence.
- Make a Playlist together. Have a road trip coming up or planning a night in? Make a playlist to go along with your activity. My partner and I use Spotify to make playlists for car trips together and it’s so fun to see what each of us adds to it. You can learn a lot about someone through their music choices!
- Start your own bookclub. I saw this idea on one of the Peloton instructor’s Instagram page, so I can’t take credit for it, but I loved the idea! You each take turns reading a different book, switch mid-month and talk about the 2 books at the end of the month. I thought this was such a cute idea. Reading not your thing? You can also do this with audiobooks!
- Turn The TV off. Talk. Challenge each other to Wordle. Play a game. It’s so easy to sink into the couch and binge a show (it can be fun too!), but try and take at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to chat about your day, or anything really.
- Keep a running list. Last year, I got the best invite my organized, little heart could’ve ever desired…An invite to a google spreadsheet called “Cool Shit”. I had met my match. A list of date ideas, restaurants and other fun things we want to do together. I love discovering new restaurants and bars and adding them to our list. That way, when it comes down to the dreaded question, “Where do you want to eat tonight?” We consult the list!
What other date night/couple ideas do you have? Sound off below!
Nik & Lindi. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Nik and Lindi from our time together in the Air National Guard. I’ve known them both separately and as a couple and I have to say, together they bring out the best in one another. They asked me to be their photographer the night of their engagement and I was incredibly honored! And when they told me they were getting married in Lake Tahoe, I was pumped!
Their Story. Nik first saw Lindi in 2010 while he was on a base tour, but it wasn’t until their 2014 Guam deployment where their initial glances at one another became something more. While they were in Guam, they decided to get scuba certified and became scuba diving partners. They spent lots of time studying together, being breathing buddies, working on dive techniques and often times they’d come back from their dive to find that everyone else had gone out for the night, so it left a lot of time for them to spend getting to know each other without any other distractions. After Guam, their career paths changed. Nik was selected for a pilot position and Lindi shortly after. Their friendship grew from there. It started out by texting each other about training questions, talking about how nervous they were for their pilot training, and meeting up in Texas to watch their first rodeo together. Soon they were planning monthly weekend meetups, attending weddings as each other’s dates and it quickly became a friendship that neither one of them wanted to lose. The rest, as they say, is history.
Their Session. These two love to travel, they’re both pilots in the Air Force and proud owners of Lucy the Airstream, so for their engagement session we headed out to Moab, Utah to photograph inside Canyonlands National Park. Lindi really had her heart set on watching the sun rise over the Mesa Arch. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person, but this view was well worth waking up for. Utah definitely exceeded all of my expectations (It’s GORGEOUS!), and this engagement session is one of my top favorites to date. After we spent some time getting all the shots, we took our rented Jeep Wrangler down Shafter Offroad Trail. I sat in the backseat terrified, but it was still a very cool and unforgettable experience.
Nik and Lindi! I can’t believe we’re nearly a month out from your wedding! I can’t wait to be there as you two start a brand new chapter in your lives together as a married couple!
Kacie and Justin were married this summer at the beautiful Veteran’s Terrace in Burlington, Wisconsin. From their engagement session, to their wedding day, these two just seemed to complete one another. Their laid back personalities mixed in with their ability to have fun (and throw one heck of a reception) definitely came through on their wedding day. Their cake was playful and the dance floor was jam packed. They were surrounded by so many family and friends who love them so much. Kacie & Justin, thank you so much for asking me to be your wedding photographer. I’m so happy that I was able to capture the beginning of the rest of your lives together.
Vendors: Venue:Veteran’s Terrace // Wedding Dress: The White Dress MKE // DJ: BB’s Best DJ Service // Cake: Gooseberries // Florals: Family Friend
To the many, many families I was able to serve over the course of the year. THANK YOU! Thank you for trusting me with your families’ most cherished memories and for giving me the opportunity to laugh, play and run around with your little ones.
To all of the lovely married couples and engaged couples…THANK YOU!!! Taylor and Kyle, you will forever hold a special place in my heart as being my first ever wedding. Thank you to all of this year’s couples who trusted me with documenting their most important day. For booking me and putting your faith in me when I had yet to shoot a single wedding.
If I had to choose one word to describe 2017, it would be incredible. Never did I think a long time hobby could turn into something like this. I’m so excited for 2018 and can’t wait to work with more wonderful families and couples. Thank you to all of my clients, my family and other seasoned photographers for all of your love, support and advice! 2017 wouldn’t have been this amazing without all of you!
Jess & Chirag celebrated their October nuptials with their closest family and friends during an intimate, New York City wedding. Chirag is originally from India and all of his family still lives there. The two planned on traveling back to his country to have their big Indian wedding (a first time visit for Jess) but they still wanted to celebrate with Jess’s family and all of their New York friends.
For a city with such a crazy, “on the go” vibe, the weekend was very laid back. Their wedding festivities kicked off on Friday evening when Jess hosted a henna party in their apartment. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know these two on a more personal level. Their friends and family are so wonderful and I feel like I’m best friends with Jess’s grandma. She was quite the storyteller and we got along wonderfully!
I can honestly say that I loved everything about Jess and Chirag’s wedding day. The two got ready together in their NYC apartment. The details were on point and her dress was simple but gorgeous. An absolutely perfect choice for an unseasonably warm October day. Although there were a few hiccups throughout the day, Jess and Chirag handled everything with such grace and just laughed it off. Things like having a ceremony start almost an hour late and having no music to walk down the aisle to couldn’t sent someone into a meltdown, but these two just laughed as their friends and family hummed, “Here comes the bride” as Jess walked into the room. The couple wrote their own vows which were very heartfelt. There was even a Game of Thrones reference thrown into Chirag’s.
Jess and Chirag had their ceremony at the historical 3 West Club in the gorgeous Solarium room, which opened up to a patio that overlooked St. Patrick’s Cathedral. After the ceremony, everyone headed to Tarallucci E Vino for dinner and polenta party. I highly recommend checking this place out if you’re in the NYC area. The food was phenomenal and the cheese display was out of this world amazing. I can’t even begin to describe. Just scroll down to see its’ awesomeness. As a girl from Wisconsin and lover of cheese (and wine), my heart skipped a beat.
I asked the couple what they were looking forward to most about being married, and they said “just being together”. Having nothing to do but hang out on the weekends and to start their lives together. Congratulations to Jess and Chirag and thank you so much for asking me to be part of your amazing day and the start of your new journey as husband and wife!
Vendors that helped make this day amazing:
Wedding Dress: BHLDN
Florals: Alma Floral Design
Ceremony: 3 West Club
Reception: Tarallucci E Vino
Invitations: Minted
Kristin and Bryce met while they were each out with friends. It’s so funny to hear the story according to Kristin, because it just reminds me how much communication and the dating world has changed since I started dating my now husband. Bryce actually called Kristin as opposed to texting her! These two hit it off and the rest is history. We headed down to the Milwaukee Lakefront for their engagement session and I can’t wait to hang out with these two again at their wedding next summer.
Amanda and Jim had the most perfect day for a wedding at Boerner Botanical Gardens. Their ceremony was small and intimate and very much about them, as they both wrote their own vows to one another. There was barely a dry eye in the audience. After their ceremony, the two hosted a fun, casual and laid back reception at one of my favorite places, Camp Bar in the Third Ward. Congratulations Jim and Amanda! I wish you nothing but the best for your life together!
Special thanks to these amazing vendors who helped make Jim and Amanda’s day extra special:
Hair & Makeup: Neroli Salon and Spa// Kirstin & Maggie
Ceremony: Boerner Botanical Gardens
Ceremony Music: Sound By Design
Reception: Camp Bar
Cake: Simma’s
Florist: Bloom Floral
Taylor and Kyle had the most perfect wedding day anyone could’ve asked for. It was so much fun hanging out with them all day long and I’m still so honored that they asked me to document their big day.
I had the joy of hanging out with the ladies at the salon before the bridal preparations took place. Because Jamie had another wedding that same day, she had to fit Taylor in earlier in the morning. Afterwards, we all had lunch together before heading to the venue.
One thing I learned about Taylor and Kyle is that everyone at their wedding had a long history with them. These two definitely make friends for life, which should be a given since they’ve known each other since they were kids themselves. It’s so amazing to see a couple that has grown up together and who are still so in love after all these years of really knowing each other.
Congratulations Taylor & Kyle! Thank you for asking me to be your wedding photographer and for making me feel like part of the family.
Key Players
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
Cupcakes: Miss Cupcake Bakery
Bride’s Dress: Mori Lee @ Amelishan Bridal
Groom’s Suite: Men’s Wearhouse Navy suit
Florist: Rachel Block @ Reflections of You
DJ/Entertainment: On the Limiter Productions
Bridal Party Hair and Make up: Impressions
Timing played a key factor in the relationship between Ally and Nico. They met through mutual friends and upon getting together, they realized they probably should’ve ran into one another sooner: from being on the same dinner cruise as one another to visiting the same pick your own fruit farms as children. They kept missing each other but Ally said that they met when the timing in their lives was just right.
For their engagement session we headed down to the lakefront for some tandem bicycle fun. These two love being active and have participated in a number of races together throughout their relationship. They told me that they had gone down to the lakefront a few weeks prior to make sure they practiced for their shoot. I’ve heard these bikes can be tricky to ride, but these two were champs. We had so much fun!
Nico and Ally will be married next summer in an intimate wedding. They aren’t having a bridal party, so the day will be focused on just the two of them. I can’t wait to hang out with these two again and I’m so grateful they chose me document their day!
