Boho Adventure Engagement Session at Brenton Arboretum
I met Jalen and Justin in Dallas Center to explore the Brenton Arboretum for their engagement session. Brenton Arboretum is such an amazing place and has a little bit of everything, from willow trees and ponds to endless fields of tall grass. Jalen wore an amazing Lack of Color hat with her comfy and cute white sweater and jeans, and switched to the prettiest little black dress for the second half of their session - these two are literally my dream couple in terms of their amazing style! They also brought their adorable dogs Hilo and Maui along for their session, and they told me the cutest story about how they chose Maui’s name. Jalen and Justin met while studying in Hawaii, and when they came back to Iowa to finish their degrees, they fell even more in love, so when they got Maui, they named her to commemorate how they fell for one another in Hawaii. HOW CUTE, RIGHT? Of course, I tried to convince them to elope to Hawaii for their entire session after they told me about their sweet connection to one of my favorite places in the world!
Before their session, Jalen and Justin tried to warn me that they’re pretty shy and awkward in front of the camera, but they were soooo adorable and giggly in front of the camera BECAUSE they were shy, which made it perfect! I probably should have brought along some beer to help their nerves at the beginning, but as their session went on and they were snuggling up in the golden light and gallivanting through the tall grasses, they started to open up. I just LOVE when couples tell me they’re super shy and awkward, because it’s so fun to prove them wrong! By the time their session was coming to an end, they had their shoes off and were running around, romping barefoot through a field, just having the MOST fun together.
One thing that definitely helped them open up and have so much fun during their session was that they were completely game for anything I suggested. I really love and connect with couples who are down for anything I suggest, whether that’s laying down in the grass and closing their eyes, hopping on each other’s shoulders, picking each other up and tossing each other around, or tackling and tickling each other. One of my favorite moments in their session was when they were walking through a field and the golden light was glinting off the tall grasses around them, and they snuggled in real close for a kiss - it was such an adorable moment!
Jalen and Justin’s engagement was literally a PERFECT session and I’m SO excited to shoot their wedding in Iowa later this year (but I would DEFINITELY still go with them for a Hawaii elopement in a heartbeat)!
