It would be impossible for me to love Dani & Joey more.  5 minutes into my first conversation with Joey I knew they would be the best.  True to form, they did not disappoint.  This is what they spent 99% of their session doing.  Laughing.  I love couples who laugh together.

When they were not laughing, they spent their time debating and answering the big questions in life.  Questions like…. Who is the best Disney Villain? Joey took Scar, I believe Dani settled on Cruella Deville.  (Joey & I spent the next 5 minutes mocking Dani’s choice.)

Let’s stop right here for a minute.  How can ANYONE pick Cruella?  What’s her crime?  So she loves fashion.  Is that really so bad?  Who among us has not indulged once or twice with an accessory or an over to top wardrobe item?  Scar on the other hand KILLS HIS BROTHER and then forces his tiny young nephew to take the blame and leave his mother.  That’s a bit more cruel than a shopping spree.

OK, Back to the session.

They are also awesome at frolicking.

And having general fun times.

One of my favorite parts of every session is getting to hear how couples met.  Dani & Joey have a great story.  They were both members of the same gym and Dani had noticed him working out. (Specifically his shoulders.)  So… she started coming a bit early to watch him stretch and work out.  They had a mutual friend who noticed her noticing Joey and he decided she should meet him.  Dani was a bit nervous about meeting “eye-candy”, as she called him, but did anyway.  A few days later she was making him a spice cake from scratch for his birthday and the rest is history.

So ladies… take note.  Head out to your nearest gym and find the best looking guy there.  Odds are he’s super smart and the man of your dreams.

These two really were most comfortable when they could just hang out and talk and laugh.  It made my job super easy.

I still have not told you my favorite thing about these two.  They are 3.6 million times smarter than me yet they never once made me feel dumb.  Dani is a 3rd year OB/GYN Resident and Joey went to some school called Mass Tech in Cambridge and is currently working on his thesis paper about cancer.  I loved that they spent their session frolicking, talking Disney, and maybe even making inappropriate jokes about elbows. (Check that first image out again.)

Thank you guys for being so great, and thank you for not crushing my tiny brain with your intelligence.  :)

Katelyn is from Chicago, Chris is a Dallas boy.  They love sports and each other.

Where should we go for their engagement session?  Some place fun and romantic?  Maybe a picnic basket and a red & white blanket?  Nope.

How about someplace loud and rowdy where a fight might break out and they can get mad at each other?  Yes! Perfect!  A Stars & Blackhawks game!

My favorite thing about these two is how Chris keeps Katelyn laughing.  It was hard to NOT get a photo of her just cracking up when they were together.

Sometime around the 2nd period the photo session came to an end.  You see, Katelyn’s Blackhawks were beating Chris’ Stars 3-0.  Chris got a little grumpy.

That’s ok though.  (I work for the bride.)

Megan & Stephen’s story began like most great love stories.

Boy meets car.  Girl meets car.  Boy & Girl meet at car meeting.

You see Megan & Stephen first met at a Dallas Camaro car club meeting.  At first they didn’t quite hit it off.  I asked Megan about this and this is what she had to say.

Megan: “He thought I was a heathen and I thought he was stuck up.”
Me: “Who was right?”
Megan: “Both of us.”

Little by little they realized they kinda liked each other.  Then one day the decided they liked each other enough to get married.  Along the way they found other things they like together.

Near the top of the list if video games.  They have 2 giant TVs where they play Xbox together.  And, despite the fact that Meagan is a Marine, Stephen seams to hold his own in the first person shooter games.

After some fun at Dave & Busters we decided we had to include their babies in the session.

Stephen, thank you for letting me place a flash on your car.

Megan, thank you for helping me beat Stephen at Pac-Mac.

You guys were a blast!

It took me 2 minutes to decide Grace and Lucas are my new best friends.  This engagement session was just my excuse to hang out with them for 2 hours at the Dallas Arboretum.

So marriage can be a really strange thing.  You get engaged and spend months planning this wedding where everyone is involved and giving you advice.  Then, once you are married, people just kinda forget about you and assume that you totally know what’s going on.  One thing I would love to change is how nebulous and unknown that 1st year can be for couples.  There are tons one great recourses and books out there on the topic, but let’s be honest, if you are on a wedding blog that means you are in full creeper mode right now.  Let’s seize this moment and learn a little from Becca & Brad who totally got married 1 year ago.  Take a peek at some of their images and then keep scrolling to hear what they have to say about the first year of their marriage.

1. What do you miss most about the single life?
Sharing everything. You no longer are just thinking about yourself in decisions.

2. GIve us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
$5 fillets grilled on the grill from wal-mart (actually pretty good) and a $5 matinee show .

3. What have you liked most about your first year being married?
That through hard times and the good, your no longer having to do things alone!

4. What’s been the hardest part about being married?
Getting through the financial struggles…us both having good jobs at the same time to pay off our debts.

5. What surprised you the most? (Either good or bad.)
We have grown closer to the Lord together and have now finished a book learning about the other person’s love language so even though things are great now…we maintain meeting the other persons needs. If you both focus on the others needs, your both loved and happy. It’s an excellent book.
(7 bucks on Amazon.  Go buy it.)

6. What have you fought about most and why?
Every fuss usually originates from stress about money! I brought debt into this relationship due to college loans and neither of us seem to get our perfect jobs at the same time.

7. What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
To be honest …nothing, we were friends first and nothing has really changed for us after marriage!

8. Do you have any advice for couples about to take the plunge?
Best advice…put God first (the couple is never doing things alone) and always be always honest about how you feel. It may cause a fuss at the moment but getting through those, learning everything about the other person, and always being honest sets your future up for success and will keep you from having things build up. Those explosions are never good for anyone. Most of all love your partner and meet their needs.

Thank you two for begin brave, opening up, and letting us peek into your life.