I know the title says that we did a first look with the bridals… buuuuut I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Rachael and Matthew showed up to the reservoir in the same car, and Rachael was already wearing her dress! After we got all the must-have shots around the reservoir, we ventured out onto the frozen lake for a staged first-look! We laughed the whole time, and Matthew did a stellar job. If I didn’t tell you, you’d never know that he was pretending!

And about that frozen lake… I am such a chicken and will probably never do that again. Haha so sorry.

ANYWAYS we had so much fun doing these pictures! At the reservoir, there is such a beautiful outlook on the southwest side, and that’s where we decided to start. We only got a few photos in until we decided that the wind chill factor was not worth more shots there. The ones we did get though turned out amazing (yeeesssss see the below!).

I couldn’t believe the difference in temperature that just coming into the trees to cut the wind made! The first look actually happened last, and that wind came right back on as soon as we were out on the ice. Holy smokes. There have only been a few sessions that I come back from not being able to feel my extremities, but this one made the list!

Before we ever met in person, I got an email from Rachael inquiring about wedding photography saying that she heard about me through my sister! It turns out that both Rachael and Matthew are pretty good friends with my sister Brooke. I love it when I get a referral from my friends and family!

I had a wonderful opportunity to shoot this session with another photographer, Whitney Carter, and a videographer, Kali Atkin. I love watching other creatives do their work!