An unusually warm October day in Wisconsin, paired with fall color and a quiet downtown made for a relaxed and beautiful engagement session! A rare, but much appreciated combo!
Gianna and I connected over Instagram a few months back when she chose her wedding venue, The St. James. After hearing all about their cozy Sunday morning pajama proposal story followed by a celebration with their friends and family, I got the sense that she and Dan are our kind of people. As we prepped for their engagement session, she had sent me images from my feed that she really loved. We landed on the Monona Terrace and Madison Capitol for their engagement photos!
One of the parts I love most about engagement sessions, is just getting to see our couples interact. Dan and Gianna were no exception to this. Each time I prompted them to go in for a kiss, it was met with a soft giggle from Gianna and a beaming smile from Dan. Earlier they had been joking about looking “ugly” in their photos. When I showed them one of those sweet moments from the back of my camera, they both lit up. It went without saying, that seeing the love they share frozen into a photo was far from ugly.
Their confidence grew as the night went on. As we made our way up to the Capitol we got to witness more and more of those little moments. We also got to hear more about their lives outside of wedding planning. We found out that Dan had played on a soccer team with an old classmate of Davids. Small world, right? We shared in their excitement as they talked about Dan’s upcoming move to be closer to Gianna. Both seemed so ready to bridge the gap in their long distance relationship. They shared photos of their cat, paintings they had worked on together, and we swapped stories of family traditions and silly memories of growing up. By the end of the night, we saw so much more of who they are as a couple and why they mesh so well.
When we delivered their gallery a few days later, Gianna’s response made my heart swell. It was complete with lots of exclamation points and a few excited GIPHYS. I knew their experience was just as enjoyable as ours. We laughed together at the trouble of choosing just one photo for their save the dates. Now, over a week later, I am still getting Facebook notifications from their friends and family commenting which photos they love most. Though our work is never about the praise or recognition, it feels really good to see our clients and their families so happy, confident and excited about their memories. Those emotions and moments are the ones we want you to hold on to forever. You deserve to be so overwhelmed with excitement when you look at them that all you can do is happy dance and squeal.
Dan and Gianna, thank you for inviting us along on this journey with you! You are both so kind and so sweet, and from the stories you shared- your families will be just as wonderful. We are so excited to join you both next year in one of your most epic milestones yet!
Hugs,
Paige and Dave
We offer engagement photos in the Madison area as part of our wedding experience. To read more, head on over to our wedding page.
