A Country Engagement Session | Hannah Barlow Photography | WV Wedding Photography

Good Afternoon, everyone!

Just in case you’re having a case of the Mondays…please let this brighten up your day!

Meet Taelor and Justin…and their fur baby, Manny!

At least…I hope it’s spelled “Manny”!  I probably should have clarified that first before typing up this blog! HA! Sorry buddy if I got it wrong (UPDATE: I confirmed it is “Manny” and because I like to be real in my blogs…I didn’t edit the original stuff I typed out)!!  Anyway, I thought he did AMAZING but his parents were being your typical parents about it…feeling bad for me when he wasn’t being 110% cooperative!  What Taelor and Justin forgot was that I used to do family photography a lot more than I do now and many times…pets and kids act the same, for real!  Flower girls and ring bearers too!  They’re just so excited about the day and the newness so they want nothing to do with me or my camera and just want to explore and play!  But again…I think he did great, didn’t he?!  What do you think?! He even smiled!

Ok…so maybe he got a little TOO excited at times!  But HEY!  He gave the “walk snuggle walk” a shot…and dragged his parents around while he was at it! I just love their expressions though!  Too funny!  These are real moments captured!  I always tell my couples, “Don’t hold back.  If you feel the need to just start laughing…DO IT!  You’ll love those moments!”

So, Taelor had taken my advice and brought Manny a designated sitter (Hey, Danika!) <— I did confirm that’s how you spell her name!  “Taelor” is also spelled correctly for any of my hyper-anal friends who just LOVE to catch every typo and grammatical error I make (you know who you are…just raise your hand now…own it!).  I also would like to admit that I do KNOW I make those errors at times.  I try hard! I do!  I often joke that my life is just “one giant typo” and I’m ok with that!  I’ve always spoken too quickly…typed too quickly…errors happen AND my website isn’t compatible with Safari to top it all off so the spell check doesn’t always work! HA!  My old English teacher Miss Stone will probably be knocking on my door tonight now though!  I’m batting 1000 here!  BUT anyway, back to the story!  Danika was nice enough to take him on a walk around the lake while we snapped these photos below.  Ironically, I had to photoshop Danika and Manny out of the background in some of these!  It happens!  I giggled while doing it!

 My goodness…these two are amazingly stunning together AND easy to work with AND game for whatever I wanted them to do…especially considering we’d had a couple of totally different plans for this session and neither of them panned out.  So, we settled for this and I think it was meant to be because just check.them.out!  They’re a good looking couple, right?!  AND so sweet to top it all off!! I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEIR WEDDING! EEEKKKKKKK!  Let my assistants begin the fight over who gets to do this one! HA!  July 20th, ladies.  Duke it out!

I mean…not only did Taelor nail the shoulder sniff (you HBP couples know what I’m talking about) but Justin just also went with it and gave me the most genuine smile and laughter while sincerely admiring his future bride.  That’s right…just look at him!  That’s genuine emotion right there!  THIS is what love stories are made of and these two are going to have to.die.for wedding photos! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  I’ve got ALL these ideas already!

OoooO you know…just some snuggling and laughter by the lake too!  Just stop!  These photos are so “simply” but so full of love and amazingness!!! AHHHHHHH!!!  I’ve squealed a lot already during this session and typing this blog!  The outfits and location just meshed together perfectly!

So, Manny got his walk in…a little excitement burned off…and nailed it!! Danika helped us!! I told her what I normally tell Kari…”stand behind me and act like a crazy person”.  Perfection!  They all nailed it!  Great job, everyone!

So we then took off to another location and Manny had to have just a few more photos.  Taelor kept saying, “Manny!  Just give me one good family photo!”.  I actually knew we already had it but wanted to give them a few more JUST in case!  Their outfits and this location…it just works too!  I also should mention that Justin had proposed in a simple, intimate way at their house…with Manny present!  Sometimes keeping it simple makes all the difference!  I absolutely love that their engagement session reflects that too!

You know…this may be my favorite doggy/ring shot EVER!

Get ready to laugh…that knee placement wasn’t an accident!  We let Manny have some modesty! There was some quick talk about photoshopping certain body parts out (Taelor’s idea not mine..bahahahahaha!) and Justin was quick to defend his male, furry friend!  So, we compromised and positioned Taelor’s knee JUSSSSSTTTTT right! HA! Too funny!

So, Manny was finally done with his part of the photo session and we sent him off with Danika (once again…thanks, girl!).  I wanted to get a little creative so I had Taelor and Justin sit here and I shot these! GAH!  They’re just so good (the people not the photos).  Well, I love the photos too but you don’t get good photos like this without amazingly great people like these two!

I’ve rambled an awful lot already but you know how I get when I’m excited!  I can’t get over it!

Ooo man OooO man OoOO man!

There are going to be some fierce and steamy wedding photos in HBP future!  You just wait!  Holy moly!  Can’t you just picture it now?!?!  I already told Taelor I’m going to need a lot of picture time for this wedding!

They did some walking and snuggling, of course!  I’m told these two went to school together in 2009 (he was a senior when she was a freshman…just like my husband and I).  They didn’t actually meet until 2014 AND Taelor tells me Justin STILL hasn’t officially asked her to be his girlfriend.  I’ll jump on board and defend the guy…she did get asked to be his wife and got a beautiful sparkly ring out of it!  I’d call that a compromise if I’ve ever seen one!  Check it out!  I did purple because that’s what I had available AND that is her favorite color!! It worked!  OOoo and this ring is yellow gold…which you don’t see very often anymore! YAY!

Here is the walking and snuggling I mentioned!

…and a little more…because…why not?!  Justin also picked her up and he was like a statue….like…for real…he just held her there…still….for a long time!  My photographer heart could burst because the things we’re going to do at their wedding and the options we’re going to have are just going to be AMAZING!  These two just fit together!

…and they danced and they spun!  They knew what to do to get me excited!! I also asked if she was a dancer because that arm positioning was a dead give away!! Yep!! She danced for 15 years! It shows!

EEEKKKKKK!  It’s just perfect!

…and, of course, they nailed the dip!! Toss a dress on her and we’re SET!  I’m literally sitting here trying to get over this session.  I have ALL the warm and fuzzies right now! I can’t even stand it!  My husband said I’m always extra nice and lovely after these sessions! He’s right…I never realized it before!  A girl can NEVER get enough love stories in her life!  Am I right?!

Another shot of the ring because the side is so unique!! I’d also love to mention that Taelor and Justin are my first EVER July wedding!  Crazy, right?!  By July of next year, I’ll have been in business for almost four years and I’ve never shot a July wedding!  I’m so happy they’re my first!  They’re another one of my couples who are taking advantage of the BEAUTIFUL Enchanted Acres in Dennison, Ohio!  I can’t even begin to imagine the gorgeousness that is going to happen on this blog next year!! She said it’s going to be “EXTRA” when I had her describe her wedding…meaning EXTRA EVERYTHING!  This may be one of those weddings I need a third person….for real.  I can’t even wait!  Who’s in?!

Well, that’s it, folks!! I hope you enjoyed it!! Give these two are big, warm, HBP welcome and a big digital hug!  They’re amazing!  They deserve it!

I’d also love to toot my own horn because Taelor told me Justin usually hates having his photo taken but didn’t mind these photos.  You all know that’s like my favorite thing to hear because my husband (Hi, Love! I know you read these now!) doesn’t love having his photo taken so I get it.  I sooooooo get it!  Justin, I promise…Jenna and Kari are just like me…the wedding will be fun and it’ll be a breeze!  We’re going to have a blast AND it’s going to be AMMMAAAAAZING!

Happy Monday, everyone!