About their engagement session: We specifically signed on with Ren because of her beautiful artistry and unique style we saw in her portfolio. Ren seemed to capture real life moments instead of statuesque poses, which was right up our alley. After seeing photo after photo of mushy kissing "we can't get enough of each other" Save the Dates on our fridge, we really wanted to take photos that caught the essence of our personalities: two people who love to make each other laugh. Ren FAR exceeded our expectations. Our session was just three friends hanging out and having fun.WE brought every prop we could think of to show what kind of clowns Jared and I could be. Between the bubbles, the hula hooping, my crazy dog, "that's what she said jokes", and bubble gum blowing contests, the end product shows just how much fun we were truly having. It was an absolute blast!!
Photo credit: Studio 29
Their love story: A baby brought us together! Jared and I shared mutual friends, Tom & Kelsey Pangborn. Tom and Jared had grown up, gone to HS and St Norbert together, while Kelsey and her sister Emilee had grown up and gone to HS with Lindsay. Tom and Kelsey's who had a little girl named Miss Zoey who was baptized in November of 2011. Jared was the God father, and Lindsay was coming as a "Frauntie." Lindsay had worked a night shift at the hospital, and came straight from, looking sleepy and not the prettiest. Somehow though, she attracted Jared's attention, and he badgered the Pangborns with questions about her. After a chance meeting a few weeks later at a restaurant, a Facebook friendship, and some texting, a new little relationship was born!
The proposal: HER VERSION :Jared had come up with what he thought was the perfect public engagement. Early in the morning fn December 1st, unbeknownst to Lindsay, he went to the mall and met with Santa and his photographer to help him propose. The plan was to suggest we take a picture with Santa as our silly Christmas card to match our goofy personalities. He wanted to have me sit on Santa's lap, have Santa ask me what's wanted, while Jared got down on a knee to pop the question. Meanwhile the photographer could catch the happy moment on film for us as a keepsake. Jared came back, scooped me up, and initiated the plan. The timing of all of this was RIGHT in the middle of my finals, and I was not in my usual squirrelly mood. I out right refused to do sit on Santa's lap. The more he persisted, the more disinterested I became. Jared was in a panic, and quickly devised to grab our dog Tater and suggest a walk. After an hour of driving around, and me thinking he was a crazy person, he decided on Holy Hill. He recommended we go in dogless just to see the church.(I at this point had thought head completely lost his marbles). After climbing the stairs up to the top, he got down on one knee, and proposed to his stubborn girlfriend:)
HIS version: The truth. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I had finally picked up the long awaited ring. I was so excited about it that I knew I had to propose to her that day. My idea was to convince my man Santa Claus to help me seal the deal so I stopped and had a nice conversation with him and his helpers. After a nice conversation, Santa agreed to participate and said that they would make sure to capture this monumental moment. At this point, I rushed home and persuaded Lindsay to return to the local mall. She was under the impression that I was interested in purchasing a hat and that it would only take a few minutes. Once we walked in, I immediately attempted to get Lindsay to sit down on Santa's lap. The idea was that we needed a Christmas card and a picture with Santa would be perfect. Being her stubborn self, she instantly rejected the idea and continued to tell me that Santa was for little kids (bullshit) and there was no way she would do it. Crushed, I attempted to salvage the pride I had left so that I could finally lock down my beautiful girlfriend. My brain was going a mile a minute and Lindsay knew something was up due to the fact that I was not listening to her and kept running in to her on our wall out of the mall. Once we got in the car, the only place I could think of was a beautiful old church out in the boonies and I figured that we would be alone so it could be a nice private moment. After about an hour of driving (and a very confused girlfriend) we finally had arrived. I was nervous about the pet situation so I asked her to leave the dog in the car while we made sure it was a pet friendly area. We hiked up the stairs and once we had finally made it to the top, I saw the perfect spot in which I could find out, if she would truly be my bride. A few nervous breaths later and a quick tear filled speech, we were wrapped in each others arms already planning our future. Best day of my life.
