​It’s always fun when you just click. Like yes, totally between a couple absolutely – in fact, it’s a must. But when you just click with the couple you’re photographing? Love it! This is exactly how we felt when we met up with Kayley and Isaiah at Afton State Park a few weeks back for their engagement photos. We had previously met Kayley when we photographed her dad marrying her stepmom (You can see their fun backyard wedding with all the beautiful horses here.), but we had not met Isaiah besides a zoom call… and yet, it felt like we already had.

We first met these two pre-COVID for their adventure engagement photos at Afton State Park (It even included fishing!). They were ahead of the game, already planning an intimate elopement in the Colorado mountains for their wedding day the following year. But their plans for a reception? It got pushed around with all the things we all went through in the last year plus, so they settled on having a wedding reception here in Stillwater, Minnesota, for those near and dear to their hearts right after their one year anniversary.

A vow renewal ceremony or wedding vow reaffirmation ceremony is defined by Wikipedia as “a ceremony in which a married couple renew or reaffirm their marriage vows.” It sounds pretty straight forward, but I think every married couple would say that each and every day, continuing to love and cherish one another in all circumstances can get challenging. I remember getting engaged and having so many older couples telling us that marriage is really hard, and you won’t always be in the happy-go-lucky stage. While I get what they were saying, it was quite a downer for a bride-to-be. Yes, there are hard times, and yet, there is nothing better than seeing a couple grow past the first year or two of marriage and still see them saying, “I choose you.” Tom and Lezlie are one of these couples that show joy and continued commitment ten years into marriage. They chose to surround themselves with those closest to them and once again privately yet publicly say, “I choose you.”

We first met Reed and Maranda a little over a year ago as their search for wedding photographers began for their wedding day at Historic John P. Furber Farms in Cottage Grove. We had fun chatting, and soon it was time to take their engagement photos, and I remember coming home and telling Mark that Reed and Maranda were the type of people we’d want to hang out with. Reed is out-going and fun, sharing his wealth of ecology if you step out into nature with him, whereas Maranda is supposedly more shy and has successfully completed nursing school. We have to say we didn’t see this shy side in Maranda on her wedding day but a confident RADIANT bride who was absolutely in love with the idea of forever marrying her man.