Chelsea + Matt | Engagement | Milham Park | Kalamazoo, MI

Change can be scary. As we look around at the world around us, just think about how many things have changed in the last 5-10 years. The iPhone is now the iPhone 12; Myspace has given way to Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok; and kids who are under 10 weren't even born in 2010. (Not going to lie, that last fact hits a little too close to home for us.) However, when change comes into our life, we do our best to not only be afraid of it; but instead to welcome it! Chelsea and Matt's Engagement Shoot was the perfect opportunity to return to a location we hadn't been to in over a year and to see how we had grown!

Chelsea and Matt originally contacted us through mutual friends, but by the time we had hopped off of the ZOOM call with them, we are pretty sure that all four of us knew that we were going to be perfect for each other! Their engagement session became a hybrid of a mini family session with an engagement session thrown in, since their kiddos are obviously a HUGE part of their lives! Even though the kiddos were a little shy at first, Andrea had no trouble quickly becoming their favorite person as she drew laughs and giggles from them in her usual "Andrea" style. After the kiddos had their fun, it was time for Mom and Dad to get their own session, and Milham Park did NOT disappoint with the views for these two!

Almost a year ago, we arrived at Milham Park with another J + A bride and groom to take engagement photos, and since then we haven't been able to make it back over to this side of Kalamazoo. However, we knew that Chelsea and Matt really wanted some portraits around a stream, so we scoured our different locations in an attempt to find a beautiful, stream-filled area from one of our past sessions. As we walked around Milham before they arrived, we thought back over to how we viewed Milham a year ago to how we viewed Milham now. The beauty of these two sessions is that both of them are full of gorgeous portraits, but they were both taken with a different mindset. 2020 Josh and Andrea looked for different things than 2021 Josh and Andrea did, and because of that, one location had two drastically different looks! And this is why we love to embrace change; it creates variety, beauty, and a uniqueness that you simply can't "conjure" up on your own. In a way, change can force us to try new things, and sometimes find even better things than you could possibly imagine!

Chelsea and Matt, as we look back over your portraits one last time, we find ourselves thinking about your kids and how excited they must be to see their Mom walk down the aisle soon! The way that you two look at each other is full of both love and excitement and we can only imagine how beautiful it's going to be when you both see each other on your wedding day for the first time! Can July hurry up and get here already?? All our best!

J + A

While we try to focus our engagement blogs on our couples...we just COULDN'T help but share a few images of this absolutely ADORABLE family with Dad and Mom!! How cute are they?!

All photos are property of Josh and Andrea Photography LLC.