A Magnolia Springs Engagement

Mary Catherine and I first met at a wedding! She was a bridesmaid in Sharon and Brandon’s wedding, as well as in Annie and Christopher’s wedding. I love working within the same friend circle for multiple weddings! It’s fun getting to know couples and their friends over all the different wedding days. By this point, I feel like she and I are old friends as well!

Several months ago, Mary Catherine contacted me about wedding photography. After already getting to know her at two previous weddings, you can imagine how sad I was to tell her I was already booked on her wedding date. Who would have ever thought that all these months later we’d be taking engagement pictures of her and Russell the day after they were supposed to get married?! These are crazy times for sure, but one bright spot has been the fact that the change of Mary Catherine and Russell’s wedding date led us to working together after all.

When Mary Catherine and Russell made the decision to postpone their wedding to later in the summer, she sent me an email asking if there was a chance I was available on her new date. Thankfully, that was one of the few dates that hadn’t been taken by the weddings I’d already rescheduled for my spring 2020 brides. I am so excited to be able to work with Mary Catherine and Russell, not only because I already know I will love working with their bridal party on wedding day, but because they’re just such a sweet couple.

A Location with Meaning

For their engagement session, Mary Catherine and Russell chose Magnolia Springs. Russell’s grandparents used to live in this sweet town and he and Mary Catherine frequently visit the area to kayak. It’s also the place where Russell proposed! I love that they chose a location that is special to them for these photos!

I’ve been to Magnolia Springs before, but was really only familiar with one area for photos. Russell and Mary Catherine showed me some of their favorite spots and I loved incorporating those into their session. At one point, when we were shooting near the water, something made a big splash just a few yards from where we were. I was standing on the ladder that connects the pier to the water, just one step from being in the water.

We turned to look at the splash and then it occurred to me that there were possibly alligators in the water. Random fact, I’m fascinated by alligators, but I definitely don’t want to be hanging out near the water if they’re close by! Thankfully, we saw no actual alligators and we continued on to our last location, where we discovered an amazing field and a hint of golden hour light. Such. A. Dream!

I love working with joyful couples! I know that wedding day with these two is going to be so much fun and it will be here before we know it! Enjoy some of my favorites from their Magnolia Springs engagement session!