They were both out with friends that night but when she saw him, she texted a friend that he was probably the best looking guy she had ever seen.  And as they started talking, then dating, she realized that his looks went far beyond his exterior.  He may look and appear to be that gruff guy, but when he’s around Lauren, Joe’s softer side comes out.  He probably won’t ever admit it – and he may deny every word I write if you ask him directly – but he is smitten with his girl.  His eyes light up when she laughs and he loves her like no one else is able to.

So when the time came for them to take the next step, for him to ask her to spend forever with him, he took her out to her most favorite tree and popped the question!

And of course it only makes sense that we went to that same field for their engagement session and will be there again next summer for their wedding!  I could have spend DAYS out in that field photographing these two.  Joe kept saying this “wasn’t his thing” and that these photos were all for Lauren, but honestly, they BOTH were amazing in front of my camera… which only makes me that much more excited for their wedding in June!

Thank you both so much for trusting me with capturing this piece of your love story.  I had a blast hanging out with you and am excited to share some of my favorites from your session… especially since today is cold and rainy, hopefully these will bring some warmth to your day!

Their landlord owns ACRES of land with PLENTY of photo opportunities.  So we stopped in a couple of places before making it to “the tree”.

Umm… y’all could seriously be modeling for a magazine.

Isn’t the tree gorgeous??

See that smile on his face??

Lauren is the sentimental type so having this quilt her grandmother made in the photos was really important to her.

It was also the perfect snuggling blanket!

And the perfect backdrop for Lauren’s GORGEOUS ring!

How beautiful is this??

Oh my goodness… definite favorite!

I wanted to get some cows in the photos because… well… it’s not often I get cows in pictures!  But Joe said this was as close as we needed to get, so I was fine with that!

Both of these are favorites, but I’m so in love with the one on the right…

And just like that, they turned on their model faces.

It might look like we left the field and went into the woods, but this was just around the corner from where we had just been!

Then this view was about 2 steps away!  Gosh, I love this place…

Ahhh….

You guys!!

I mean, seriously… it’s like they have the perfect “on/off switch” for the camera!

Lauren, you’re so beautiful… and I’m a tad jealous of your awesome hair :-)

The sunset was gorgeous and the light was perfect for the end of the session.

I love that we caught the tail end of the color on the trees.