I’m just a little bit excited to share this next session with you.

These peeps have an extra-special place in my heart. Stephen is my husband’s youngest brother, and the girl next to him is his FIANCE.

And I’m just a little bit excited that these two are tying the knot.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m super happy that Stephen has fallen in love and has found the woman to spend the rest of his life with. I’m thrilled he’s found his soul mate and that they’ll grow old together. But I’m like REAL excited that *I* love her!!!

Selfish, much? I KNOW GUYS, IT’S BAD. But good in-laws are soooo important and I’ve seriously lucked out so far. Now that Laura is completing the clan–AND she brings her crazy cute kiddo, too, who happens to be my Simon’s BFF if you go by the way he looks at him–I’ve got heart eyes for dayyyyyyz. She’s perfect. Seriously.

I wanted to do something special for this session since it’s not every day your brother-in-law brings home the girl of your dreams (whoops, did I just type that?), so we headed to Palisades State Park in Garretson, SD. This place is about 30 minutes down the road and I’ve been itching to get there for months.

I tell ya, there are some super sweet hidden gem locations in the Sioux Falls area, and this place did not disappoint! Palisades is a SD state park showcasing cliffs and rock formations eroded out of pink Sioux Quartzite. You can hardly believe you’re just a few miles from Sioux Falls when you’re in the middle of this park; it’s beyond cool.

We shot for about an hour and covered a super scenic part of the park, but I can’t wait to go back and use it again – this place is full of beauty! And of course, when you’ve got a couple of lovebirds using it as a backdrop…MORE HEART EYES.

When we started shooting, Laura joked about how engagement and wedding photographers will often caption images that they put on Facebook with “Can’t you just see the love!?” or “Their love was so amazing to see!” She was convinced that would not be the case for this session since we had to do some major arm twisting to get Stephen to agree to a 60-minute session.

That assumption made me laugh, but I have to say I can’t agree with her on this one! He may not be a fan of photos, but he’s a big fan of Laura.

I love how these two are when they’re together. I think your partner should bring out the best in you, and it’s so obvious these two do that for each other. Everything with them is so natural and easy; it’s like they’ve been together forever.

We shot until we were totally out of sun, and even though I’m sure Stephen would have been fine with wrapping it up a bit sooner, I’m so glad he toughed it out. These are some of my favorite shots of all time and I’m so thankful they asked me to capture them.

Stephen and Laura, sorry for all the cheese, but I can’t say enough how happy I am for you two! I’m so thankful to be part of this family, and I’m so EXCITED that Laura will officially be joining soon! Girl, I already consider you a sister and it warms my heart to see how happy you make my brother-in-law (and how happy he makes you!). Wishing you peeps a lifetime of happiness…and babies. Definitely more babies. <3 Love you!!!