Ben and Jacqui are friends of ours from the small house church we attend (which has now moved to a building, because we’re growing, but we’re all still calling it house church!) They are getting married next May and I get to be their wedding photographer! I am really looking forward to their wedding because Ben is a musician and Jacqui is an artist, and I think their wedding will be exceptionally beautiful and creative.

The weather wasn’t very cooperative for pretty much all of October, but a cool, cloudy day didn’t dampen their spirits and I like the way their photos feel – warm and intimate, in spite of the weather. We did the session at one of my favorite locations, Lake Maria State Park in Monticello. The challenge for me in using the same location multiple times is trying to use it differently each time. My approach for this session was to lay down any preconceived notions about what images I want to create, and just let things unfold naturally so that the images are not contrived, but truly reflect the couple and their relationship. Even though I usually am a pretty open-minded, let people be themselves kind of photographer, I still found it a challenge not to impose my own ideas on the session. I loved the result and will be working towards doing this more and more.

Jacqui’s ring incorporates a leaf, so when we found this huge leaf, we though it would be fun to photograph the ring on it!