Julia + Dan | Engagement | South Haven, MI

"Oh, we know that pose! We saw it in the last blog!"

"Wait, you've read some of our blogs?"

"Oh definitely! We've been studying!"

This was a first for us. As we stood there, shocked, Julia and Dan began to share with us how they had been watching our Instagram and reading our Blog with the main goal of being totally prepared for their engagement shoot! They made sure to remember their favorite poses, notice the little nuances between portraits, and prepare themselves physically for the more "taxing" photos, like the beautiful "lifting" shot we do! It was the first time we've ever had someone come this prepared to an engagement shoot...and we are FAR from complaining about it!

Julia and Dan's studies of our blog and our Instagram is the perfect way to describe them: a couple who loves being intentional and having fun while doing it! From the moment we first met them on Zoom, they made sure to ask the questions that were important to them, while trusting us with everything else. As their engagement shoot started, they quickly flowed from one pose to the next, allowing us to spend more time taking portraits and less time having to explain the different stances to them! All four of us quickly realized that because we were going so quickly, we were able to try new ideas and new locations that we had never been able to up until this point! And as we moved them from one location to the next, we often caught Julia and Dan simply smiling at each other, simply in love, simply thinking about the day where we would join them again, and this time for a wedding!

If you've been following us for a while, you will know that South Haven has always been our stomping grounds. From family photos on Packard Beach to engagement sessions and weddings at Pilgrim's Haven, South Haven has always been good to us, and this year, we wanted to do a little bit of exploring for some new locations around the coastal town! We truly are blessed to live near a place where you can get fields, trees, and beaches all within 10 minutes of each other. After an evening full of fun (and quite a bit of sand in our shoes) we bid "adieu" to Julia and Dan, already dreaming about their wedding next year!

Julia and Dan, you both get A+'s as students of Josh and Andrea! The way that you two tackled your engagement shoot just shows how you both want the most out of life and how you aren't afraid to put the work in to get the best out of something! Marriage is so SO good, but it does take work, especially when the hard times come! But when we see how you both face challenges head on, we know that you two are going to be a powerhouse couple who can handle anything that is thrown at you! All our best!

J + A