At the end of the session Dan said he felt like he just made a new friend. I couldn’t agree more (except I made two new friends)! Bri and Dan, I can’t wait to see you both again for some beer and laughs. Enjoy your little preview … I love all the life, movement and energy you both brought to the shoot.

Will you be my friends forever? Check yes or no. In all seriousness (although that was serious), I had a great time photographing you last week. Your chemistry is off the charts and your tastes and personalities are beyond any awesome adjective I overuse on this blog. Thank you for finding me and contacting me. Thanks for having a couple drinks with me at the Old Sugar Distillery before your session. Thanks for going there even though it was jam-packed and you two knew about it way before it was cool. Thank you for lighting a Chinese lantern to rid some negative energy from this world. Thank you for giving me a Chinese lantern to light one day when it’s darker outside. And for the wine and homemade maple syrup. I mean, come on … is it not clear why I want to make you be my friends?

Special thanks to Jennyface for her brilliant makeup talent. Dang, she makes my girls look gorgeous.

I guess it looks better at night :)

PS — Can I tell you the story of how these two met? They didn’t. Well, that’s how they describe their story … that they never really met. One night, when they were both out, Amalie saw Eric and just approached him. She grabbed his hand and started walking away with him saying, “you’re coming with me.” Yup. That was two years ago. And now they’re getting married.

I know. It’s not fair I get to work with people like this.

Stef and Justin are sweet, super easy-going, intelligent, quiet and yet not awkward or difficult to talk with (in fact, they are very easy to talk to and enjoyable to be around :)). Their wedding will be at one of my favorite places next year — the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Cannot wait.

Big thanks to Jennyface for making Stef look extra-beautiful.

Andy is a talented fellow photographer, so being asked to photograph him and his wife was a huge honor … one that I do not take lightly. Thank you, Andy and Jess, for trusting me, being open, and being awesome. Hope to see you again soon!

My favorite memory from the evening was asking Andy why he fell in love with Jess and he said, “because she drove a Saturn.” Yup :)

I already knew I adored them based on Holly’s sweet emails filled with smiley faces and x’s and o’s. When they arrived at the session, Holly jumped out of the truck with a huge hug, a bottle of wine, and a warm, “how ARE you?” Kohler had the biggest smile on his face, despite literally just returning from a multi-day bachelor party up north. I really like these guys and cannot, cannot, cannot wait for their flower farm wedding in August!

PS — I love their style.

To top off the evening, Maggie and David treated me to dinner and an ENTIRE PIE (blueberry apple) at the Elegant Farmer. This pie was baked in a paper bag and I am not kidding you — it’s the best thing I have ever tasted. No hyperbole. It’s so hard to sit at my computer today and not return to the kitchen hourly to eat another slice.

Thank you so much, Maggie and David! I cannot wait for your late July ‘Do What You Want’ themed wedding.

I knew Jennie was a sweetheart immediately because she’d send me emails like, “I’m the lucky girl who gets to marry Dave” and, “I want our engagement session to be in Chicago because although Madison is my home, Chicago is OUR home.” How endearing is that? Dave is a super talented web designer and his entire face lights up around Jennie. Every single time he looked at her he had the hugest smile. It was a joy to watch them interact, to say the least.

And here I was telling Jennie and Dave how I need to stop writing/rambling so much on my blog…

Haha :)

Favorite moment of the evening? One minute I’m thinking, “Jennie is the sweetest, meekest girl ever.” And the next minute she’s belting out the lyrics to a Kanye West song. Yessssssss; perfect :)

Juli and Heidi are really down to earth, smart, and fun. They are so at ease with each other and freaking adorable. I could have photographed them all night; I was so inspired.  Juli and Heidi, thanks for being awesome. I can’t wait to see you again in September!

Maria and Clay, thank you for being who you are … laid back and amazing to work with!

Megan & Brent, thanks for being a wedding photographer’s dream come true! See you again soon.