I love getting to know couples during their engagement session – it allows me to see a glimpse of their personalities and how truly in love they are. From John and Rachel’s session on Saturday, this is what I learned:

They love to run, hike and dig in the dirt (he’s a geophysicist, she’s a paleontologist).

The dinosaurs at Dinosaur Park are not the most accurate depictions of the ‘real deals.’ (Believe me, Rachel taught me all about how the T-Rex’s tail does NOT drag on the ground. :-))

Despite the historically incorrect figures, Dinosaur Park in Rapid City is where John and Rachel got engaged, making it the perfect location for a few engagement photos! :-)

As we’re walking down the hill, I stop for a couple more photos and Rachel announced that this was the very spot where John proposed.

Can I get a collective “awwwww?!”

I don’t know if it was my jokes, or how special John makes her feel, but Rachel was full of giggles and I LOVED it! :-)

A quick outfit/scenery change – don’t these two look great in anything and everything?!

Rachel – I was serious about your boots – they are sooo cute! It’s probably dangerous that we wear the same size shoe.

And last but not least… the ring!

John + Rachel – thanks so much for braving the ‘Indiana winter’ weather.

Also, a special shout-out to Shangri La: The Hideaway Boutique for the adorable outfits Rachel was wearing!

I was recently asked what I thought about brides/grooms getting a spray tan for their wedding, so I thought I’d use this opportunity for another wedding tip to share! I think it’s definitely a healthier alternative than tanning beds. However, it probably isn’t wise get your very first spray tan the day before the wedding.

(click on the image to see Ross from Friends and his spray tan experience)

Okay, so hopefully you’ll know better than to count Mississippilesly. :-)

But seriously, I think that if you’re going to get a spray tan for your wedding, definitely do a trial run a month or two before the wedding. Find out how your skin reacts to it and how long the tan takes to fade. Hopefully you’ll be able to schedule the tan early in the week before your wedding. In case something does go wrong, or you feel you’re too dark/unnatural right after the spray tan, you’ll have a few days for it to wear off (on regular clothes instead of your wedding attire).

It’s a good thing I set reminders on my calendar… I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I’ve posted a few of my favorite things!

By quickly glancing at my little collage, you’ll see that over half of it consists of food. It’s a good thing I’ve started exercising a bit!!

1. C9 by Champion – I decided that having cute workout clothes will motivate me to start exercising more. It’s worked so far (almost two weeks!!) but really, by looking at my workout history, I wasn’t going to invest much in clothing because who knows how long this “I like working out” phase will last!! Plus, I like their logo because it looks kinda fly like a G6.

2. My new ice cream maker – I’m on my third batch of ice cream (it’s okay, I shared!) and first of fro-yo since Christmas. :-)

3. Tracking numbers – I’m an online-shopping junkie and I like to know which days to expect the UPS or FedEx guy so I can change out of my pajamas by noon.

4. Hulu – I don’t really have tv at my apartment. Hulu to the rescue! I signed up for an account and so every time there’s a new episode of The Office, Parenthood, Castle, or The Bachelor online, it automatically adds them to my queue!!

5. Cinnamon Pecan Special K – My closest friends know that I love cold cereal. Until recently, I would keep my cupboard stocked with Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, Kix, Cocoa Puffs, and anything that made Kindergarteners jealous. Since I found Cinnamon Pecan Special K, I am hooked. It’s like my taste buds went from grade school to grown-up with just one bowl of cereal.

6. Mostly Choclates – Lance came to visit last night and there was only half of one peanut butter crunch caramel left. So much for buying two of everything.

Your wedding photographer is the one person you hire for your wedding who will be spending the majority of the day with you.

Your wedding day. The day that you and your fiance become Mrs. and Mr. until death do you part. The day that you have been planning for months or even years! And you’re going to hire someone to document your entire love story come together with the unity of marriage. And they’ll be there. All. Day. Long.

Aside from whether or not you really LOVE the photos you’re going to get from this photographer (which you should – you’re hiring him/her!!) this person should be able to make you genuinely smile. They should make you feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. I believe that hiring a photographer should be more than just the photos they take. It should be a combination of their talent AND personality that you base your decision on.

By loving your photographer (their good looks (photos) and their charm (personality)) I’m sure you will feel super comfortable with them being around you all day long. And who doesn’t deserve to be comfortable on their wedding day?! :-)

p.s. I don’t care if this is the third time this image has been on the blog – I just love how in LOVE Dan + Kalina are!! And their wedding is only a little over a month away! Hip, hip hooray!!

This morning my car alarm went off on it’s own. Just sitting there, in my parking lot, it started to honk.

The honks were not just any kind of honks. To me, they sounded like “Brr! It’s! So! Cold! Out! Here!”

So I took her out for a drive to warm up. And since I had to go out into the cold (I do not like being cold), I decided to make the trip worthwhile.

I brought along my Mostly Chocolates gift card that I got from Halley for my birthday (thanks, dear!!) and spent most of it in one stop. I got two of everything to share with Lance, but I have a feeling there won’t be two of everything left by the time I see him next! I have already ‘sampled’ the turtle, the caramel and the butter cream chocolates. And I’ve only been back from my outing for an hour. :-)