Samantha + Chad || Engaged

I’ll start off with the fact that I just love Sammy and Chad. Not only are they sweet, hilarious, hard-working individuals, but together they are genuinely these qualities x10. You can feel it when you are around them.

When Worlds Collide

Sammy and my daughter when to high school and played on the same basketball together. Chad was in charge of the crew that maintained my lawn in the summer (Don’t judge me: when you are a busy photographer with a husband who lives in Canada for the summer, there is NO time for grass mowing).

Sammy reached out to me this spring to share the happy news that she was engaged! During our conversations, she made the connection that I also knew the groom through their business. I just love when people connections happen like that.

Fast forward to this summer with them doing a TON landscaping for us (check out CORE Landscaping they do amazing work).  I got to see them in action. A lot. For those of you who have been married for a while, you know that when you combine hard, manual labor in the crushing heat – this isn’t always the recipe for the best attributes of a relationship to come forward. For Sammy and Chad, they were always laughing, talking, and being awesome.

This interaction outside of the usual wedding/engagement planning and photo sessions was such a cool way for me to really get to know them. By the time their engagement shoot came, we were old friends!

Then the BIG Surprise

For the second location of their engagement session, we decided to do the urban set at the Thirsty Pagan, which is the site of their wedding and reception next summer and also a place that is extra special for Sammy. What she didn’t know is that Chad, along with her best friend Alex, pulled off a surprise birthday party with friends and family. She was speechless and moved to tears. I love being part of the surprise!

Congrats to you both Sammy and Chad! I cannot WAIT to celebrate with you both next summer!