Jeffrey + Melissa | Engagement Session | Olbrich Botanical Gardens & Memorial Union Terrace
A spring engagement session at Olbrich Botanical Gardens & Memorial Union Terrace in Madison, WI
I am bursting with joy to share some of my favorites from Jeffrey and Melissa’s recent engagement session!! This session almost got rescheduled due to the scattered thunderstorm forecast, but we pressed onward knowing it was clear but a possible chance for rain. More on that later, we didn’t escape unscathed!
Jeffrey and Melissa first met playing recreational volleyball in Stevens Point. Jeffrey worked with some of Melissa’s teammates and they needed someone to fill in, so he offered to step in. After a few weeks of “subbing” Jeffrey became a permanent member of the team. They got to know each other over months of being at volleyball together (and softball later as well) and then they really clicked when they started hanging out away from their teammates/friends. About a year ago, Jeffrey proposed to Melissa after making a scrapbook of their memories together and using the last page of the scrapbook as his proposal page. So sweet!! New jobs brought them down from Stevens Point to Madison and they just purchased their first house.
I first met Jeffrey and Melissa briefly at a wedding I photographed last fall in Racine and a few months later they reached out to me and asked if I would be available for their June 2020 wedding in Cottage Grove! After chatting with them over Skype I knew we were a perfect fit! During their engagement session at the gardens, I was able to get to know Jeffrey and Melissa a bit better. We talked a lot about homeownership, as we are both new homeowners. Melissa shared with me a lot of really cool things that she does for her job at UW-Madison working with international college students. We talked a bit about traveling, too, since Melissa has done some traveling around the world herself. Melissa and Jeffrey are so laid back, I could tell that they cool with any pose I put them in or location I placed them in.
After we went to our second location, the Memorial Union Terrace, we were challenged by unexpected rain. We waited it out inside the union until it stopped, then headed out to the pier for gorgeous water photo opportunities. Well, then the rain HIT HARD! We ran for shelter to an overhang nearby. Jeffrey and Melissa were so easy going about it though!! They were troopers!! Eventually, the rain did let up, and now the union terrace was completely empty of people! So, in the end, it all worked out because we got to take pictures with the colorful chairs, which is what Melissa really wanted!
I can’t believe it’s going to be a whole year before I photograph their June 2020 wedding in Cottage Grove!! They are such an adorable couple and I wish them all the best while they get settled into their new home! Enjoy some (ok, maybe a lot) of my favorites from their engagement session at Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Memorial Union Terrace!!
To view more engagement, wedding, and portrait sessions on the blog, click here.
If you or someone you know is interested in an engagement/wedding photographer, please send them my way! I am currently booking for 2020 weddings and remaining 2019 wedding dates! Contact me here.
[…] a few years when they met while playing on a volleyball team. You can read more about them in their engagement blog post. 2019 was the year I photographed their engagement photos, which seems like decades ago when you […]
Awesome issues here. I am very happy to look your post.
Thanks a lot and I’m looking ahead to contact you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?