When Nicole, Christopher and I were planning their December engagement session, we knew it might be cold, but we certainly didn't anticipate the veritable blizzard that hit Asheville the night before. Nicole and Chris wanted to have a small destination wedding in our beautiful mountains so they came in from Chicago for a weekend getaway of wedding planning and brewery-touring, and it seems they brought the windy weather with them! Luckily for us, their car rental was actually a big truck with four-wheel drive so they picked me up (and even brought me coffee!) from my apartment and we trekked to downtown. 

Originally, we'd planned to do the majority of their session in Catawba as they noted their perfect Saturday together is usually checking out new breweries in their hometown or the best local breweries wherever they're visiting. But, with downtown suddenly turned overnight into a winter wonderland, we knew we needed to take advantage of the beautiful backdrop. 

These two were total good sports about it too. Their perfectly-coordinated outfits didn't entirely shield them from the elements, but I made sure to include lots of hugging poses so they could keep each other warm. It was actually their support of each other than struck me most from their introduction questionnaire: Nicole noted that "Chris is so supportive with everyone in his life, but I feel like it's especially true for me." Their first date story immediately backs that up; Chris had waited for her after her nighttime retail shift at the Target in Pittsburgh where they both attended the university, bringing her her favorite Starbucks drive and a Pixar movie. I wanted to show through their engagement photos both how thoughtful and appreciative each of these sweet people are towards each other. 

As evidenced by the many, many laughing photos, they also love to have fun together. While they worried that they might come off as awkward or uncomfortable in front of the camera, as soon as they looked at each other any perceived awkwardness immediately melted away leaving only glowing smiles. According to Nicole and Chris, "we committed to being each others' person a long time ago and intend to be that for one another for a long time to come." After being around them for only a couple hours, it's easy to see how committed they are to each other. 

Finally, after making a huge circle up Church St. and back down Lexington, we took shelter in the warmth of Catawba and enjoyed a round. This brewery is always a fun place to shoot because of the wide variety of wooden textures, particularly all the barrels, so with the slowly-warming sunlight streaming through the windows to create a spotlight on the lovebirds, we had a fun end to our photoshoot. 

Nicole and Chris, after months of planning and waiting, will make their vows to each other this Saturday at Highland Brewing Company and I'm so excited to capture more of their sweet smiles. As they said, "every day is a new commitment to each other," but this one will be extra special.