This week we were fortunate to photograph Aileen & Ryan's Engagement Session here in South Bend at their alma maters! Aileen went to St. Mary's College here in town and Ryan went to Notre Dame, so we were thrilled that they wanted their Engagement Session to include both campuses! We love getting to photograph couples at their alma maters and this was even more unique because like during one of weddings last summer, we were able to photograph these two at both of their colleges which is rare if both didn't go to the same college. (These campuses are basically across the street from one another, so this makes it a breeze to jump from one to the other.)
Aileen & Ryan's wedding is coming up on June 30th in a couple months (technically NEXT month as of yesterday!), so we're very excited to get to photograph that so soon for them too! These two will be celebrating their wedding at St. Anthony's here in South Bend and since they both taught at St. Anthony's together, will be having a little mingling time after the ceremony for some of their former students to attend! (They'll be having a little milk "mocktail" hour which we're so excited to capture! How sweet that their students get to partake in their wedding day!!) Their reception will be downtown at the Woodward where we've photographed many a wedding in the past 9 years and we're very excited for that as well!
Back to the Engagement Session: We had to push the Session back weeks due to rain and other weather delays, but luckily this week were were surprised to see some spring foliage finally (i.e. flowering trees) start to bud! Normally this time of year has more warmth and last year we noted that the trees started to bud at the start of April, but this year it seems as if nature is over a month behind on the sprouting! This may or may not have something to do with the fact that it's snowed in the past week, but we're just happy that we were able to photograph these two in mid-50s weather with the sun shining and a few trees flowering!
We started their sunset Session out at St. Mary's College because a few days earlier we'd noted that they had a few flowering trees around their campus. Luckily the soon-to-be graduates around campus taking photos narrowed down by then, so we were able to photograph these two lovebirds at 6 different flowering spots around the St. Mary's campus as the sun set! Two of Aileen's sisters were even around campus at different points (since they too go there) and it was great meeting them a couple months before the wedding and having them around!
We're so thrilled that there were spring flowers starting! These two love the outdoors and adventure + were hoping that they'd be able to have some fun spring flowery, colorful photos, so we're just thrilled that just a week and a half after the last bit of snow that there were flowering trees and bushes out for them on this 60 degree day!
((Note above: Their graduation rings from St. Mary's College and the University of Notre Dame! They're such gorgeous class rings.))
These two crack each other up! You can tell that they love to make each other laugh and they're extremely comfortable being completely themselves around one another.
While one of Aileen's sisters was hanging out with us, Ryan decided to re-propose to Aileen with a beautiful magnolia flower! (Everyone knows the gift of spring is one of the best gifts on earth.)
Once we wrapped up at St. Mary's we then headed over to Notre Dame to capture some final sunset portraits. Though the tulips and other flowers hadn't bloomed just a few days prior, they were out in full force in front of the grotto when we got there, so we photographed these two on the path leading to the grotto including these beautiful tulips. We of course headed right to the Golden Dome after that and were able to photograph these two in front of the dome (between two amazingly newly bloomed magnolia trees!) before and after they turned the lights on the dome!
After that we headed back down to the grotto and Aileen and Ryan lit candles and we captured some last portraits of them there. Notre Dame's Golden Dome is one of the most iconic University symbols in the United States and the grotto at the University of Notre Dame is almost equally as symbolic and recognized. At the Grotto (a 122 year old 1/7th size reproduction of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France) it's customary to go in and light a candle- a sort of prayer for a deceased family member, someone going through a difficult time, or various other reasons. (Even for atheists who don't know the history or religious significance it can be a place of quiet contemplation, meditation, and in general a nice, peaceful escape.) Many times on wedding days of our couples whose ceremonies we capture at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (ranked one of the most beautiful churches in the United States and world), we walk right around the back of the church and capture the couples and their bridal party here on their wedding day. Most of the time there aren't many people around and it's bright out, so we're respectful and cautious not to disturb anyone praying, but for some reason being inside it at night we felt the need to whisper mostly and be even more cautious and hands-off. It's a beautiful, solemn place that's perfect for couples to embrace within and it was a perfect last stop for Ryan and Aileen.
We had a blast with these two and are even more excited about their wedding that we'll be capturing in just a couple months! Happy May and congratulations on officially making it to the month before your wedding, Aileen and Ryan! We cannot wait to print your photos for you and we're excited to show you the full gallery of images (and can't wait to see which you like the most)!
Coming up in just a few days we're capturing Eileen & Dustin's wedding in Michigan! You may remember their hometown St. Joseph, Michigan Engagement Session from this past September (think a ton of pink lawn flamingos!). These two are getting married just over the border (from our place in South Bend, Indiana) in Niles, Michigan at The Morris Estate on Cinco de Mayo, so there will be little fun things thrown in like the meals being accompanied by elote (Mexican corn) and various beautiful festive, flowery, and colorful accents throughout the wedding day! The day for Eileen will start out in Dowagiac, Michigan getting her hair and makeup done where Jenny will meet her to capture the preparation and Dustin will be readying with the men at the Estate where Jason will be capturing them. Their reception is also amazingly at The Morris Estate, but we'll be heading to downtown Niles for some portraits of them in between since these two enjoy the modern city life feel! We just captured a plethora of photos for a bank locally again today, so we're editing those images for the next few days, have re-scouted some locations for portraits in Niles for their wedding today since we're just a few short days away from the Big Day, and are setting some final details for Mike and Amy's wedding in just a couple weeks at the Blue Dress Barn in Benton Harbor, Michigan! This year about half of our weddings are in Michigan and we're so excited that so many are in beautiful, outdoorsy locations! #PureMichigan and #ClassicSouthBend for sure this year!