STARVED ROCK ADVENTURE ENGAGEMENT SESSION

When you think “adventure engagement session” there’s really no better place in Illinois to go than Starved Rock State Park to make it happen.

Katie + Matt live near Des Moines but when Kaitie and I were discussing options for their engagement session we both agreed that we wanted to go for a romantic, unique and EPIC vibe (yes, it’s 2012 again, shut up).

I asked these two what they were willing to do and where they were willing to go and they said those MAGIC words all photographers want to hear: “Anything. We are down for ANYTHING and we’ll drive anywhere!”

Knowing we needed to get their engagement photos taken in spring and having shot at Starved Rock before I knew it would be the perfect wild and raw backdrop we needed to show these babes off.

So on a sunny and slightly chilly Memorial Day weekend we met up in the tiny town of Utica to create some magic. The waterfalls were in full force from a winter of heavy snowfall and while these images look serene and private, the park was just flooded with hikers and tourists. We prevailed though, hiking to different canyons (La Salle is always my favorite!) and allowing the water and elements guide us into moments that were sometimes cinematic, sometimes intimate.

The key to any adventure session I think is making sure you’re going on it with the right people—folks who feel so comfortable with you and each other that the time and effort spent feels fun instead of forced. I love that we were able to spend the whole afternoon together instead of just a quick hour and I think the trend of making my engagement sessions more of an experience for my couples is going to continue.

I could go on about Kaitie and Matt and how awesome they are but I’ll save that for their wedding blog ;)