Ice skating, hot coca, s’mores– you won’t want to miss this cozy, sweet, playful Winterfest engagement…

Jen shared, “Hiring you to be our wedding photographer was the first and easiest decision we made when beginning to plan our wedding.”
Tyler explained, “Jen’s jaw literally dropped when she first started looking at your work.  She was impressed by the high quality images, all the candid moments and emotion.  It was at that point that we both knew we needed to make you our wedding photographer.”
They continued, “Working with you was everything we could have hoped for, you are simply amazing. You made us feel very relaxed and comfortable.  You were so easy going and had us feeling so relaxed we barely knew you were there! Before our session we were both very nervous, not sure what to expect, but as soon as we met you, all those nerves went away. We love the creativity and the love that you capture in your photos and just the wide variety of photos.”
Aw thanks, guys!!!  While the photo above shows a more colorful, creative, playful take on their relationship and the Winterfest space, the image below shows a more traditional engagement portrait.

Jen shared, “We love getting cozy and are always down for little adventures. We choose Winterfest because it had all of our favorite winter activities in one place. We could cozy up while getting to try something new together.  It showed the more playful side of ice skating and playing games and the more relaxed, cozy aspects of the cabin, s’mores and hot cocoa!”

Jen shared, “There is nothing better on a cold night by the fire than a warm cup of hot cocoa.”

Jennifer reminisced, “I will never forget the day I first met Tyler. Later that day he sent me a message and my heart literally skipped a beat.  Tyler was so caring and persistent, even from the start! He would call me and text me every day to see how my day was going. Every time he was home from college in Florida, he would go out of his way to make sure he saw me. This is what made me begin falling for him.”

Tyler elaborated, “I would let off steam after a long work week at the driving range and asked Jen if she’d like to come along.  She came and looked absolutely stunning.  I had butterflies!  We grabbed ice cream and talked until the place closed.  That is when I fell for her!”
Jen smiled, “For me, I knew he was the one when I did something that was super embarrassing– I spilled my ice cream on his pants!  I was mortified but he laughed and had the biggest smile on his face!  Tyler literally makes me a better person.  Being able to balance each other out and support each other is what makes our relationship work!”

Jen shared, “We were so excited that the cabins at Winterfest had games!  Tyler and I have a little competitive side and we love playing games together.  Playing a giant version of Jenga was fun!”
Timber…

Tyler shared, “I picked up skating in college.  It was just something I’d do with friends every once in a while to escape the sweltering Florida heat.  I had tried to get Jen to try it with me a few times, but she somehow always managed to find a way out of it.”

Tyler shared, “Getting Jen out on the ice for our engagement session was awesome and something I’ll never forget.”

He continued, “It was an amazing experience to be able to do something I love with the woman I love.”
Jen, I have to say you have the prettiest hair!  I opened my camera aperture wide to capture her highlights, the Christmas lights in the distance as well as hints of Philadelphia architecture…

Tyler concluded, “Even if I did have to drag her onto the rink initially, haha, by the end she was all smiles!”
I wanted the image to be very sharp and clear even though the light was fading and they were moving.  I used a special combination of camera settings and lens choice to create this photograph…
He looks so proud to have her by his side!

S’mores time!  They look like kids on Christmas morning, haha!  Adorable :).

A little nod to their wedding location, The Historic Acres of Hershey, the sweetest place on earth…

Tyler shared, “Jen and I get along so well because we both are down to do anything. We will spend the nights gazing at the stars at an antique car festival or jamming out to Thomas Rhett at the local fair. We can be super busy or be sitting on the couch and still have the most amazing time together!”

Jennifer shared, “Tyler has always been such a gentleman.  From the day we met he has always brought me flowers, opened doors, etc.  I couldn’t imagine what he’d do for our engagement.  We love the beach and awoke to the sound of rain.  It literally poured all day, so we spent the day playing board games.  (Little did I know he had an elaborate beach proposal planned).”
Tyler explained, “I kept checking the weather on my phone and looking out the window, with my heart pounding.  As the hours passed, game after game, I could not stop worrying about the proposal.  Finally at 4pm the rain stopped but the winds were crazy.  I knew I was not going to let anything stop me from proposing to Jen.”
He went on, “We decided to drive to the beach since it had been raining all day. We got into the car and I took a deep breath. Jen was very confused but still had no idea what was going on. We arrived at the beach the wind was blowing everywhere and we can barely see anything!”
He concluded, “I walked Jen down to a row of hand-made signs that have song quotes from a few of our favorite songs. The path was covered in rose petals (which were blowing all over the place, haha!). At the end of the path was huge heart with a guitarist to play our song, Die a Happy Man. As we slow danced Jen began to cry. I turned her around and there were all our family and friends holding up big signs that read, ‘Will you marry me?’  When she turned back around, I was on one knee.”
Jen said, “This was truly a fairytale proposal and I could not have imagined a more perfect engagement story!”

I love to get creative and play with different photography techniques, angles, etc whenever I shoot.  One of my favorite things to do is play with reflections and silhouettes.  I was pretty much freaking out then I saw this opportunity.
I didn’t Photoshop the neon letters into the photo– the scene with the lights and silhouettes is the reflection on the glass and the skates sign is what I saw through the glass.  Cool, right?  It was just a matter of capturing just the right angle with the right settings etc.

Here I played with the sunset and lights and silhouetted them again!

Jennifer and Tyler, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your engagement and wedding photos!  I loved working with you and am so excited to hear what you and your friends and family think about your photos and love story!  I’m also looking forward to photographing your upcoming Historic Acres of Hershey wedding!!!