Anna Caroline & Scott met while in college.  He was a working at Pine Cove (Crash & Burn) and a mutual friend made sure they both went on a spring break trip together.  Soon after that, they started dating while they were finishing up school. They spent so much time studying in coffee shops that the Strada Cafe seemed like the perfect place to start their session. (Shout out to Strada for being super nice and accommodating and letting us shoot there.)

Scott said the thing he likes most about Anna Caroline is how laid back and chill she is.  How she just goes with the flow and is so transparent.  I saw that right away and I loved seeing the two of them interact. My Bride also possesses these traits, and trust me, they are great traits to have in someone you plan to share your life with.

I always try to get a photo of my couples just walking and chilling.  Getting a nice clean background can sometimes be a problem.  At first glance that red car is ruining the photo.  That shows how little you know.  The red car is actually MAKING the photo better.

Meet Wally.

Wally is the car Scott has had the past few years.  They have been through a lot together.

One time Scott hit a deer.  When he went back to check on it, it had gone back into the woods.  Totally to run back to it’s family to live a long and happy life.  (Definitely not to die cold and alone.)

One time one of the hubcaps fell off.  So Scott pulled the other three off because he wanted Wally to look symmetrical.

They have gone on trips, adventures and best of all, Wally is how Scott would go from Fayetteville to Little Rock every weekend to visit Anna Caroline. (3 hours one way.)

Yes, the windows still go up and down.  (Although the buttons sometimes fall down into the door.)

I think it took both of them by surprise when I insisted that we feature Wally in their photos. But to me, he is central to who they are.  He is a part of their story.  I loved working him into the session.

You know what else Anna Caroline likes besides Scott?  PLANTS!
Breedlove Nursery & Landscape was super generous for allowing us to crash their place.

These two fit together so perfectly.  I think it’s Scott’s magical hair.  I wanted to run my fingers through it, but I felt that might be inappropriate.  Maybe I’ll work up the nerve to ask about it on their wedding day.  (Totally normal right?)

Anna Caroline told me her favorite thing about Scott is how thoughtful and considerate he is.  How he is always thinking of others and looking for a way to meet their needs.  This jumped out at me right away as every time we were going somewhere, he would rush around to open the door for her.  He kept checking on me to see if I needed help with any of my camera gear and had enough room in the back of Wally.  (Riding in Wally was a joy and may have been the highlight of my day.)

Seriously though, this girl is nuts about flowers and such.  I can’t wait to see what La Tee Da Flowers does for her day.

I can’t tell you how much I loved hanging out with you two.  I loved your personalities and sense of humor.  I love that Scott drives a car that looks like it should be on fire, and I love that you, Anna Caroline, are ok with it. I love it because you two already seem to value the things that are worth valuing.  People.  Relationships. Community. Experiences.

What’s funny to me is that you two spent time thinking and planning what to wear and where we would go take photos, but didn’t once even consider Wally as part of the day.  Instantly I knew though that he would MAKE the session.  Because in 2067 when you have been married for half a decade and have piles of grandkids running around your house hunting eggs on Easter, one of them may ask about your story and how you fell in love.  I don’t know all the details you’ll tell ,and all the stories that you’ll remember, but I bet you’ll talk about how generous Scott was even as a young man. And I know Scott will tell of your gentle spirit and how attracted he was to it.

And I wonder if just maybe, you’ll pull down a picture off your shelf where the two of you are sitting in front of a beat up red car. And you’ll talk about how Scott drove for hours every weekend in a car that didn’t look like it could go 10 minutes, just to win your heart.

And right then in that moment, your kids will smile because they’ve heard the tales for years. And your grandkids’ eyes will be filled with wonder at how magical your story is and how a little car named Wally played a big part in it.

I first met Cassi on a mission trip to Haiti back in 2013.  It was her first trip and she jumped right into doing the hard work as well as playing with the kids.  One of my favorite things about her was how welcoming she was to anyone she met.  My oldest son Joseph was also making his first trip overseas.  Over the course of the week, they developed a bit of a friendship and she gave him the nickname J-Money; partly due to his skill on the basketball court, and partly because nicknames are cool.

The next year, a trip to Belize brought more hanging out with J-Money as well as more basketball.

Last year, she met Sara and right away began investing and pouring into her life throughout the week.

(Even though they only see her about 7 days a year, our kids think Cassi is the best.)

A few weeks before our trip last year, I noticed a LOT of a certain boy showing up on Cassi’s Instagram feed.  I checked in with her mom about the lad, and she assured me he was legit and might stick around.  I knew Cassi would not be able to go a WHOLE week without seeing him, so I brought along a little cardboard cutout of Justin-the mystery boy.  Much fun was had.

Fast forward about 8 months and guess who is engaged and getting married?!?!  That’s right.

Cassi & Justin!

We started out by hitting their favorite date spot.

Cassi is a basketball coach way far away in Nazareth and her schedule is pretty tight.  That left us only with a Sunday to shoot on.

Well, Chick-fil-A is all like… “We are closed on Sunday.”

Did that stop us?  Nope.

Justin, being the winner that he is, went and bought food 2 days before and kept it nice and fresh for our session.

We then went on a little tour of San Angelo where these two met and went to school.

This was by far one of my favorite engagement session moments ever.  While shooting, Justin reached into his pockets and found this piece of paper.

It was a note Cassi had left him from when she did his laundry a few weeks back.

And now we are getting to the good stuff.  This is actually where these two met.  They were on the same intramural flag football team.  As Cassi tells it, this is a great team.  To be on the team you either have to “know someone” or “be really good”.

Cassi said she knew someone, that’s how she joined the team.
Justin is just really good.

Look at that catch.  I told you he was really good.

His second week on the team, they had an out of town trip and she made sure she ended up sitting at his table.  Her excuse was that she didn’t want to have her “back to the door”, but hindsight being 20/20, we all now realize it’s just that she wanted to have her face facing his.

These two love to compete at everything.  (Cassi is a killer basketball player having played for SanAngelo and now coaching at Nazareth.)

Cassi with the quick first step.  Justin with the foul.

I think my favorite thing about these two is how comfortable they are with each other.  Justin’s love for her is super obvious, but his respect for her is what really stands out.  He values her input and treats her as his equal.  Cassi is one of the most confident women I’ve ever met, but I also see the trust she has in him and the security she finds in him.  I love seeing how their story, which began on separate but similar paths, has now joined up.  Last year when Cassi was in Belize, Justin was on a mission trip to Africa.  This year after the wedding, they are heading back to Africa together.  As great as these two are as individuals, I can already tell they are going to be even better as teammates.