From our very first meeting during our consultation, I have adored Lauren & Jeff! They are two of the most down to earth, genuine people ever! I loved hearing every detail of Lauren’s elegant and rustic wedding plans. We could have sat at the Starbucks for hours and just chatted away! So Much Fun! I just love them to pieces!

One of the things we went back and forth about was where to have their engagement session. We discussed doing it on a beautiful hunting estate in Georgia, sailboating to an Island as well as other locations and ideas…  We went back and forth over wether her perfect vision was at the ocean or in the country with tall oaks and fields. It’s an important and tough decision, and as a girl who also has a heart for both the beach and the country I could totally understand Lauren’s dilemma! Finally one day Lauren sent me some photos of a session with a canoe! It was perfect! I knew it would be a challenge but if we could pull it off it would be such a beautiful and memorable session! Lauren decided that Fort De Soto would be a great place so we would have a place to put the canoe in as well as do photos at the beach.

I figured there would be some challenges involved with a session involving a canoe but I didn’t know exactly what. Ana and I got there early to find the best place to put the canoe into the inner coastal area, after a little searching, we found the perfect spot! We could access and photograph from the ground as well as above them on a bridge, photographer win! The only bad thing was, the ground at the shoreline where we needed to put the boat in was a mucky mess!! None-the-less we waded through it and my amazing couple never skipped a beat! Within a few minutes of standing there we quickly realized that the no-see-ums (tiny little biting devil bugs) were out in full force! They were soo bad, yet, Lauren and Jeff stayed focused and made the absolute best of it! Then it was time for them to get into the canoe, oh boy was that tricky lol! It was quite wobbly and even worse when we tried to put them both on the same side! Once they got settled the magic began and we were able to capture some of the sweetest moments!

Once we were finished with our little canoeing adventure we headed to the beach! We drove around looking for some spots we’d seen on Instagram with beautiful driftwood but couldn’t find it and once we did we realized it was probably too far and we were losing sunlight so we decided to head to the beach instead. From then on everything went beautifully! The weather was amazing, the no-see-ums weren’t on this part of the beach and the love between Lauren & Jeff was so genuine and fun to capture, I couldn’t ask for more!

We captured some fun photos on top of the fort, Lauren & Jeff took a few moments to relax with a glass of wine and whiskey (for Jeff), and they took a stroll on the beach.We wanted to end our session in the water (which is not an uncommon thing for my engagement sessions). As I was capturing our last photos as we were losing sunlight, I felt something bite me… I said ouch and kept shooting lol, well then I felt the “bite” again. I turned around to see what I was bumping into or if there was a fish there, and there was the culprit staring back at me! A stupid ol jelly fish had stung me and was staring me down with utmost rudeness! Needless to say I survived and kept shooting, lol! I can now say I’ve been stung by a jellyfish for the first time of living in Florida my whole life! It was just a small one and the sting wasn’t bad, but I definitely won’t ever forget this session now! Despite all of our challenges this was one of the most fun and joy filled sessions! (I know I say that all the time, but when you love your “job” and have such amazing couples, it’s the honest truth)

The love and affection between Lauren and Jeff came so naturally. The laughter was genuine, the kisses were passionate and the way they looked at each other was so special. I loved watching the way they interacted with one another. I thought it was the cutest thing hearing Lauren tell Jeff, “You look hot!”. I love it so much when I get to be a small part of someones love story, especially when it’s so authentic.

Lauren, Jeff, you guys are so wonderful. You are everything I could ask for of a #brandygracebride & #brandygracegroom! I can’t wait to celebrate and capture your special day with you. Until then I will celebrate each of the little days in between that are equally important!

Hugs, Brandy!