Meet Tom and Mackenzie! When I first met them I knew that we were going to work great together, our personalities just clicked right away. Mackenzie is such a sweet caring woman and  Tom obviously has a big heart to want to help people, as he is a firefighter for the Hasting Fire Department! When Mackenzie told me she wanted some pictures in the fire station I may or may not have screamed like a kid finding out they get to go to a candy store! I was ecstatic! I have never done pictures in a fire station, but it has definitely been on my bucket list of places to shoot. I am so excited that they were open to all my ideas and suggestions! After doing this session, I can’t wait for the next fire fighter to come my way! I also can’t wait for these two to start having babies(too soon?!) so I can incorporate his fire fighter equipment into the shoot! Oh the ideas!!!

Mackenzie and Tom did not want just pictures in the fire department, but were unsure where else to go. They are an outdoorsy couple who love to ski and just be in nature so we started brainstorming. First, we thought about a ski resort and it just didn’t seem to work for us. I remembered a location I actually chose for my family pictures this fall and I described it to her and she fell in love! After the fire department we headed a whole hour north to The Hansen Tree Farm. I am in love with this location; it was the perfect place for these two love birds. From the dreamy tall pines to the quaint little shack with a log burning stove just perfect for snuggling under a blanket, this place was meant for them. Tom was even having some fun pulling Mackenzie on the Toboggan!

This engagement session couldn’t have been any more perfect, well… besides the cold… We are in Minnesota and even though the pictures don’t really show it, it was COLD!!!!Thank you for sticking with me in the frigid weather! I had so much fun with you two and thank you for choosing me to capture your wedding in November!

I’ll leave you all with their story. These two have been in the making for quite some time! Here is how these two love birds fell in love!

“Our moms have been friends with each other for over 10 years, and they always tell us we met because of them. Apparently, Tom and I first met at the middle school orientation when we were both going into 6th grade. However, it obviously wasn’t a very memorable meeting, as neither of us remember it. But later in the year we became good friends and hung out with the same friends for a few years. I had a crush on him the summer before of after 8th grade. Tom and my brother Mitchell became friends after a while too, so Tom was always over at my house hanging out with him doing guy things. I always made them food… As the high school years went on, we remained good friends. In my freshman year of college, we made a pact with each other that if we were both 35 (I think that was the age) and single, we’d get married and have kids. Well, we didn’t have too wait that long because about a year after that pact was made, he “asked” me to be his girlfriend. I put it in quotes because he never actually asked, he just flipped my Claddagh ring in the opposite direction – to mean I’m in a relationship – and waited very very patiently (a solid 10 minutes at least) for me to realize what he did. I smiled, we kissed, and now we’re planning a wedding!” – Mackenzie