Posts tagged Huntington Beach | Columbus Wedding Photographer

Sami & JohnHuntington Beach Engagement Session

I can imagine how they met. Sitting next to each other in business class, noticing one another over time. An unnoticed glance from her. A hidden glance back from him. Bumping into one another at the home of a shared friend. A relationship that starts cool, but builds quickly. At least that’s how I imagine it in my head after talking to Sami and John during their Huntington Beach engagement session.

Like my wife and I, Sami and John started dating on Valentine’s Day. After a few years, they were engaged. As Sami tells it, she thought something was odd that Christmas Eve in the park. It was unusually warm for winter. Nonetheless, John gripped is jacket tight, sweating the whole time. They hiked for some time, eventually reaching a hidden bridge. He shed his unnecessarily thick jacket, producing a ring and a heart-felt proposal.

Now it’s nearly time to cross another bridge. In just a few short months, Sami and John will be sharing vows during their Cleveland wedding. Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time I’ve photographed Sami. She was also in her cousin’s wedding, which I captured earlier this year. Below, you can find some highlights from their Huntington Beach engagement session. We also had the opportunity to visit many other spots around downtown Cleveland. Hope you enjoy!

Huntington Beach engagement session with Sami and John. Cleveland engagement photography with Sami and John

Cleveland Engagement Photography – Katie & Jeff

Our lives change in unforeseen ways. Change creeps in, at first imperceivable, like the movement of the sun across the sky. The movement is so slight, the initial change goes unnoticed. Once the change is fully developed, we see the full impact only in hindsight. At first, many of our most important life events creep silently into the room.

You could be out at a bar with friends with no particular expectations. Caught in a small group of companions surrounded by a larger group from some foreign college. Moving through the group, conversation after conversation, the change goes unnoticed at first. You meet some new people and chat for a while. Before long, you set off into the night for “midnight pancakes” with friends and some new acquaintances. The night ends plainly enough. Unnoticed, your foot has already landed on a new path. A golden path that will change everything, but whose scintillation cannot yet be seen.

Flash-forward and you find yourself in a familiar place. The path has lead you up a far away stream in a distant land, past Velma’s house, and deep into a jungle. This place is real and known, and not a metaphor at all. The guide who lead you there recedes into the darkness, leaving just the two of you swimming under the waterfall. The path started so long ago is now bright and plain to see; it’s scintillation manifested in the ring presented before you. The promise bound on this day, under that waterfall, becomes a promise to keep to the path – together and forever.

Before Katie and Jeff’s Cleveland engagement photography at the Museum of Art and Huntington Beach, they were kind enough to share their story with me, encapsulated loosely above. Below are just a few highlights from their gorgeous engagement session captured on film this autumn. I certainly hope you enjoy both the story and the images.

Cleveland engagement photography at the Museum of Art and Huntington Beach with Katie and Jeff. Engagement session at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Huntington Beach with Katie and Jeff. Cleveland engagement photography at the Museum of Art and Huntington Beach with Katie and Jeff.

Jacklyn & Adam – A Summer Engagement in Bay Village

After a couple photos, I stopped and asked “Not too difficult, right?” Both Jacklyn and Adam nodded as they stood in the driveway of Jacklyn’s family home in Bay Village. We had just begun their summer engagement sessions and the nerves were starting to settle. Just a few minutes prior, we were all running around making final wardrobe decisions and polishing off a drink to calm the nerves. At this point, the session was well under way and developing a flow of it’s own.

The plan was rather simple – start at the family home and then move out to other locations around Bay Village, including Huntington Beach. We would end the engagement session around sunset in downtown Cleveland. I had the perfect place picked out with a great city view. Jacklyn was really excited to feature her hometown in the engagement photos. Adam, being from St. Louis, was just happy to explore the city a little bit more.

As the session went on, we shoot a little and then talk as we moved from one spot to another. At one point, I was reminded of Jacklyn & Adam’s engagement story. They’re a refreshingly down-to-earth couple, and so is their engagement story. It starts simply enough, with Jacklyn and Adam relaxing at home. Jacklyn knew the engagement was coming soon, but not exactly when. She had just finished getting ready, when Adam beckoned her over. As she approached, Adam started to talk about love and life together. As Jacklyn puts it, these kind of statements were out of character for Adam. Apparently, it was so out of character that Jacklyn exclaimed “Are you proposing or something?” In that very instant, Adam turned white. Realizing the moment she was in, Jacklyn of course said yes, which brings us back to today.

Below are just a few highlights from the session, all captured on film. I love how we were able to highlight so many locations from around Bay Village, especially Jacklyn’s home. For Adam – Martin says hello. He’ll know what that means. For everyone else – enjoy!

A summer engagement session in Cleveland with Jacklyn and Adam. A summer engagement session in Cleveland with Jacklyn and Adam.

Tagged: Huntington Beach