2020 // The Best of Couples - Engagements + Anniversary Sessions!

The impossible job of choosing “a few favorites from each engagement / anniversary shoot”… I feel like I say the same thing year after year as I put these posts together:

• It’s impossible to pick “just a few” favorites

• I LOVE my couples SO MUCH it hurts

• I get a little misty-eyed recapping these amazing shoots

• I LOVE my freakin job so much it hurts

• This post is going to be a bit on the longgggg side, I can’t help it!

Same things get said, but honestly, it’s all repeated because it’s all so true!!! Every year I get SO incredibly lucky and blessed with the caliber of people I meet and get to work with — the type of people who instantly feel like friends, and who ultimately become friends. Every year, - every session - I think, there’s no way I could get this lucky again with such an awesome couple — and then BOOM, I get super lucky again with another couple I adore.

2020 ended up being a crazy busy year despite the craziness of the pandemic, but I’m SO thankful for the normalcy it brought with my job, and for couples who were still willing to power through it all cause love wasn’t cancelled, and they still wanted to celebrate their love and their engagement!! Also super appreciative that my couples were respectful too — keeping distance and being aware that it was still wise to keep ourselves safe, and definitely doable to do so AND still get great photos!!

Speaking of getting great photos… Can we cue the fanfare now?? **inserts fanfare**

— Behold —
the recapping of all my 2020 *37* engagement / anniversary sessions!!

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Jill + Pietro

My first engagement shoot of 2020 and despite it being the end of February — Leap Day no less!! — it ended up being a pretty mild-temperature day and it was such a nice surprise for that time of year! Not to mention that these guys were soooo awesome, fun, and cute!

These guys were scheduled to marry May 23rd, but as we all know — the world went topsy turvy a month after their engagement session and it resulted in these guys pushing their date out two weeks to a different date at a different church, and a smaller affair than they had planned on. It also meant their reception went from a venue to Jill’s parents backyard… and while I know that wasn’t what they planned on, it was absolutely, incredibly special and beautiful! See their wedding here — Small Intimate Wedding with a Backyard Reception.

Bri + Craig

Bri and Craig! Met these guys when they were still living in Texas and knew I had hit the jackpot with them!! So glad they were able to take advantage of their complimentary engagement session, despite our distance, and holy goodness what a great session we had! Another lovely, mild temperature day at one of my favorite places around here — English Landing Park!

These two ended up with a stunning outdoor wedding of yellow and navy at one of my fave venues — The Legacy at Green Hills, want to see it?? Yeah ya do! — Go here!

Kristin + Andrew

Oh this sweet, sweet couple. Every now and then there comes a couple that I’m unavailable on / already booked on their wedding date, which really, really sucks. But then, that same sweet couple will STILL hire me to shoot their engagement photos! And that is exactly what transpired between myself, Kristin and Andrew here — and I couldn’t be happier to have gotten the chance to meet them and their sweet pup, Andy!!

Emily + Joel

These guys!!! We ended up with a rainy day for their engagement shoot, but powered right through, and still had a total blast together. Absolutely LOVE these guys!! Their wedding in November was my last wedding of 2020, and to say I went out with a rippin’ roarin’ good time would be an understatement — adore these guys so very much. You can see their fall wedding at The Hawthorne House here!

Susan + Loren

Didn’t even realize the handful of fave shots I chose from their engagement session were mostly all walking shots… ha, didn’t mean to do that, but damn they’re good at walking cute! And I was obsessed with Susan’s dress!! These guys were one of my beautiful June weddings at The Hawthorne House — click to see their big day!

Rachel + Josh

A cute couple, a cute creek, and a cute field of wildflowers….. truly, the epitome of my favorite things!! This engagement session was so dang fun and so dang beautiful. These guys are one of my first weddings of 2021, coming up in just a few weeks at VIP Event Space, and I can’t freakin’ wait!!!

Amy + Dalton

Goodness… these guys. We did their engagement session at their venue, so getting to celebrate their engaged days to their wedding day at the same spot, I freakin’ love that. And for the first time ever, a couple was like “I bet we could climb that tree…” and I had to contain my excitement and act professional. LOVE THE TREE PHOTO. Well, I love them all really.

Anywayyyyssss — their October wedding was so beautiful I could have cried, and maybe I did. The fall colors, the pampas grass bouquets and decor, Amy’s boho wedding dress, holy freakin cow man. See their wedding at The Legacy at Green Hills here!

Heather + Thomas

Absolutely was and still am in love with the outfit choices Heather made for her and Thomas!! Neutrals look sooo good — and that dress looked great on her! Major bonus points to her for bringing a bouquet of flowers to their session too, that is SUCH a great addition to take photos up a notch and really make things more unique! And lastly, can we talk about how gorgeous her smile is!?

These guys had a summer wedding of pink and navy — church ceremony and super fun reception! And not to mention, Heather wanted to lay in the street, Notebook style for some photos on their wedding day… like, WHAT! Loved working with these guys! See their wedding here!

Mallory + Josh

Always a good day when you can combine a gorgeous couple, a pretty location, and some surprise wildflowers we weren’t expecting! Mallory and Josh were troopers as we dodged a bunch of poison oak in the woods, and tromped through the super overgrown field of weeds….AND flowers, ha, totally worth it. These two were married August of 2020 at Hawthorne House — pretty little white chapel ceremony followed by a big beautiful reception, see it all here!

Hannah + Brian

I ended up doing so many engagement sessions at Shawnee Mission Park last year, but gosh dang it never ever gets old!! That place can look so different depending on the time of year — and when you’re really really lucky, you get wildflowers, multiple times!! Hannah and Brian were SO cute and SO giggly, I could have taken photos of them all the livelong day!!

These two carried their cuteness and giggles straight into their wedding day — another one for me at Hawthorne House last year, and it was beyond perfect, beyond sweet, and beyond memorable!! See it here!

Katie + Andy

Remember how I JUST talked about Shawnee Mission Park…. yep sure thing, I was there again for Katie and Andy’s engagement session, and it definitely didn’t disappoint! Nor did these two lovebirds… their cuteness, their giggles, the way Andy kept flirting with his bride (can’t even deal with the cuteness level here). SO excited for their upcoming wedding in May of this year at The Hawthorne House!

Laura + Rodger

Quite possibly one of the hottest engagement sessions ever — it may have been a million degrees, so hot that Rodger had to carry a towel around to keep wiping sweat off of his face, haha. Man alive it was a rough one. BUT! These guys were total troopers, as if there was any surprise! We went all over Lake Olathe for these awesome shots, and found cool things like this tunnel and that huge downed tree!!

These guys ended up with a beautiful — and really amazing weather filled wedding day in October, at The Barn at Riverbend, see it here!

Angela + Quentin

And thennnn my friends, I took off for Charleston SC — one of the most magical, most beautiful cities in the US and had the incredibly good time of shooting a few engagement and anniversary sessions! One of which, was these guys here, Angela and Quentin — or, Q, his fun nickname. We walked around The Battery and White Point Park in the heart of the historic area of downtown Charleston. Then we went up and down a few amazing streets in the area and took tons of photos! Picking just a few favorites was basically impossible, but I did it lol

Kristin + Connor

Kristin was one of the first brides I booked for a Charleston shoot — sweet engagement photos with her love, Connor!! We did their shoot at one of my favorite places in Charleston SC — Magnolia Plantation & Gardens!! I could spend an entire day at this place, the beauty is unmatched!! And to top it all off, sweet Kristin clued her future-sister-in-law into me and I ended up doing engagement photos for them too at the same place!! Loveeeeee!!

Sara + Clifton

Also got all sand covered for an amazingggg end of day anniversary shoot with this super sweet couple on the beaches of Sullivan’s Island. D R E A M shoot, I’m not even kidding. I loved their outfit choices too — perfect for a beach shoot! And Sara’s throw-her-head-back-laugh….FAVORITE! Engagement or anniversary photos on the beaches of Charleston… sign me up, any day, everyday!!

Alison + Luke

Another downtown Charleston, historic district shoot!! Aaahhhhh MY HEART!! Alison and Luke are SUCH a fun couple to be around, my gosh I think I laughed the entire time we hung out!! We walked around and just took our time on this beautiful evening, and I was obsessing over it all!! So thankful to have met all these sweet couples in the Charleston area and now be able to call them new friends!!

Maddie + Jackson

Maddie and Jackson!! The now sister-in-law to Kristin up above, aka: Connor’s sister!! I’m SO glad I got to meet these guys and do engagement photos for them too!! Such a sweet and special couple, and as always — y’all know me, I love some good giggles, and these two were full of them!! Cuteness overload to the M A X.

Elizabeth + Liam

Oh these dang cuties!! Joined at the hip, best of friends, and impossibly adorable together! They’ll tie the knot this May in a small, intimate wedding at Thompson Barn, and I am sooooo looking forward to this special day! And bonus points to this great couple for choosing to hire on an awesome KC wedding planner who I LOVE working with — Keasha True with True Love Coordinating & Design!!

Kaylie + Cameron

These guys!! One of my out-of-state couples who had to do some finangling to take advantage of their complimentary engagement session, but obviously as always, totally worth it!! These guys are also one of my couples who had to make some tough decisions in regards to Covid’s mess. They moved their November wedding UP to August of last year, and decided to forego the wedding venue and all that jazz, for instead, a special and memorable wedding at Kaylie’s parents farm home. It, was, PERFECT. You can see their big day here!

Mary + Breck

These guys dressed to the nines for their engagement session at Liberty Memorial in Downtown Kansas City, and it was soooo worth it! Mary’s dress rocked in its own special way with those Midwest winds, and everything just turned out so gorgeous!

Brooke + Austin

This sweet couple have been together so long and already have been blessed with two of the cutest little kiddos ever!! Their engagement shoot ended up having to be a quick one due to family life, but we made it work, and still had a blast! Their kids came in at the end with snacks and balloons in hand, haha, and we attempted to get a few pics with them too! These guys tied the knot in a sweet little intimate wedding at Tobacco Barn back in September, click to see!

Erin + Gabe

Oh Erin and Gabe. Freakin’ adore these guys!! We had sooo much fun at their engagement session at The Nelson Atkins!! We ended up with beautiful weather, low key on crowds, and so much fun! These two are total naturals in front of the camera and they are yet again another couple I feel I could photograph all day long!!

Their September 2020 Jewish/Catholic wedding at The Hawthorne House was P E R F E C T I O N!!! Wanna see it??

Maddy + Foster

Miss Maddy!! Anybody think she looks familiar!? You might recognize her from a senior session I shot a few years back! YES!! I totally did Maddy’s senior photos! Crazy when things work just like this — and clients come back as their lives transform and grow! Maddy is now engaged to Foster and these two are tying the knot in Maui this year! SO thankful that I was able to shoot their engagement photos this past year!

Amanda + Bradley

One of those couples who giggle nonstop? I introduce: Amanda + Bradley! GOSH DANG these two are impossibly cute and impossibly cute together! We ended up with a fantastic little Fall evening for their engagement shoot at one of my most favorite places to shoot — Shawnee Mission Park! And we also got lucky with some cuteeeee little ducks that floated by on the water while we were shooting nearby! Yay!! These two are my FIRST wedding of 2021, and I absolutely cannot wait to spend the day with them at Lone Summit Ranch!!

Abby + Matt

This sweet duo have been in my life for quite some time now! Booking me over a year ago for their 2021 wedding — and then making the hard decision to postpone their wedding to 2022 due to Covid and all that mess!! So now, I get to count these guys as one of my active couples for over a year longer!! Their engagement shoot was SO laid back and fun — we blasted Third Eye Blind (MY FAVE), and other great 90’s artists on Pandora and really truly just had a ton of fun together!!

Lani + Jake

Cuteeeeeee little Lani and Jake, another couple I could photograph all the live long day!! They are the perfect mixture of cute, giggly, romantic, and lovely!! Getting shots of candid laughter and fun together is easy… getting shots of that soft romantic vibe, isn’t as easy to elicit, it takes a special kind of couple reaching a special kind of comfort level. Needless to say, Lani and Jake nailed it, COMPLETELY.

Can’t wait for their July wedding at The Hawthorne House!!

Kaitlin + Cameron

My love of Charleston SC is severe — so fun fact, Kaitlin and Cameron got engaged there!!! When Kaitlin first inquired with me and shared this fact, after seeing me talk about my Carolina life all over social media, we basically knew we were a perfect fit based on those facts alone!! Their engagement session meant tromping through some weeds to get to these beautiful yellow wildflowers, and I’m not gonna lie to ya….there were some major, massive, big-as-my-head spiders…. but none of us were bothered!! I may have been a little bothered, but I fake it real well, haha.

Natalie + Payton

These AWESOME guys brought me all the way down to Bentonville, Arkansas for their oh so fun engagement session, and it was SUCH a fun road trip!! I had no idea Bentonville is SO FUN, but wow it is!? What a little gem of a place! I had only talked to these guys via Facetime prior to their shoot — so meeting them the day of their shoot was the first time we met face to face, needless to say, we clicked instantaneously!

We started things off at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art — SUCH a neat place with endless areas for unique photos!! Then we went to the old downtown area of Bentonville, AR — again, so many cool and interesting places to take photos: cool walls, storefronts, the original Walmart (!!), rooftops with views of an iconic water tower there! We finished up as the sun set over at another place tied to Crystal Bridges, — The Momentary. These guys are some of the best humans!

Jennifer + Tanner

These cuties! Due to some crazy scheduling conflicts, we actually did their pretty little engagement session less than a week before their wedding!! Is it worth doing that when your wedding is THAT close?? ABSOLUTELY. They had a completely outdoor, MAGICAL wedding at Cedar Crest Lodge a week later, click to see!

Jensen + Dominic

Another couple who, due to living out of state, we had to wait until the week of their wedding to do their engagement shoot — and again, TOTALLY WORTH IT. It’s actually really fun and unique to see a couple so close to their nuptials for pics, and then see them again on their wedding day soon after!! These guys got married at Timber Barn at Weston Red Barn Farm, and you want to talk about some fantastic decor and well-thought-out details?? Jensen NAILED it. See their wedding here!

Faith + Chandler

Same park as the last shoot — different couple, only a few days apart!! Faith and Chandler are such a lowkey, laid back, super fun couple to be around, and their shoot was nothing short of the same!! These two will be getting married in August this year, at The Sycamore Tree, and since I adore them, AND that venue… you could say I’m excited!!

Ellie + Kyle

Starting off my faves from Ellie + Kyle’s engagement shoot with a random, accidental, BUT OH SO PERFECT blurry shot. I love these guys. I love their joy, their enthusiasm, their personalities! We had such a great time during their engagement session, and while I obviously prefer my shots in focus, SO much joy came from this first shot, which is completely not in focus.

These two will soon be tying the knot, and I’m SO excited for their big day!

Sarah + Christian

These two — turning a dreary fall day into way more fun than most dreary days!! Up for just about anything, game for hopping in and out of coats to beat the chilly day we had, and so much fun to be around! These guys are set for being one of my last weddings of 2021 — tying the knot in November at Willow Creek!! It’s going to be a good day!!

Abby + Brett

Oh my gosh these cutie patooties! SO sweet and adorable!! We got super lucky with the weather for their shoot, and had a ball together at Burr Oak Woods — a super popular spot for photos around here!

These two are tying the knot in June of this year at Eighteen Ninety and I can’t wait to hang out with them again!

Lauren + Paul

My first ever shoot involving motorcycles — when Lauren asked me about this, I couldn’t say YES fast enough!! Harley’s play a big big role in these guys’ relationship, so it only made sense that they incorporate them into their engagement photos! And what a unique thing to add in!! Loveeeeee the fun we had at their shoot, and loveeeee their photos too!!

They’ll be one of my weddings this year at Weston Red Barn Farm — a personal fave!!

Kasey + Joey

I don’t do a ton of in-home sessions, but I certainly absolutely don’t mind them!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A CAT…. Oh my gosh, ask me how THRILLED I was to finally check off my bucket list item of — an engagement session involving a cat!!! Kasey and Joey’s fun doggy was there too!! And their backyard gave us ample space to get some awesome outdoor shots too!!

These guys are one of my October 2021 weddings and it’ll be another at Timber Barn at Weston Red Barn Farm — I can’t wait!

Julia + Dan

My last engagement shoot of 2020 went out with a bangggg involving these two!! Absolutely adore them, obsessed with their personalities, and could go on and on about how much fun we had at their engagement session!! These guys chose classic Kansas City location — WWI Museum / Liberty Memorial (all these years and I still don’t know the correct way to title it, ha). I love shooting there though!! And I could photograph these two there all day long! Or anywhere really!! Can’t wait for their wedding this year!

And that’s a wrap!!

It’s SUPER difficult to choose “just a few” favorites from every shoot I do each year, but hey I like a good challenge. I could easily pick triple, quadruple the amount I chose, trust me!!! LOVE my sweet couples so much and LOVE engagement / anniversary sessions — love being able to celebrate this special time in their lives!!

Bring on the new year of engagement and anniversary sessions, because I AM OH SO READY!