When Bethany and Steven chose downtown Akron for their engagement session, I was super excited! You see, being a Cleveland wedding photographer I usually end up in, well, Cleveland, so even getting to take a step out and head down to Akron is like a blank canvas! Combine the cool architecture of Akron with an awesome couple like Bethany and Steven and you have the recipe for success, and a great engagement session!
We started in Highland Square which we learned was where Steven used to live, and even moreso we learned that they both went to the Chipotle there so much that the employees knew them by name. So, naturally, we started with a quick bite at that Chipotle!
Highland Square was so cute – there were all kinds of brightly colored buildings and such all around! It was kinda cool to see both Bethany and Steven back somewhere where they used to hang out all the time!
Something else I learned very quickly about these two: it’s near impossible for them to keep a straight face. I asked them to “look seriously at each other” or something similar and they immediately looked at each other and lost it in a few minutes of a laughing fit! It was so funny to see because in that moment you can see that their relationship is so fun and you can’t help but laugh along with them!
We wandered around a bit more and before we left, Bethany pointed out an awesome present she got from Steven: car window decals. Yes, I’m sure everyone here has seen the typical stick figure family, right? Well these are awesome and take that whole concept to the next level! They are custom ZOMBIES! You heard that right, custom zombie car decals – one for each of them! There’s a ballerina Bethany, a doctor Steven, and even their dog Layla! I thought these were so cool I couldn’t help but take a photo of it!
We left that area and made our way into downtown Akron and landed at the art museum! There’s such character to that building, it was a great place to continue the session!
We then just decided instead of over analyzing the area that we’d all just go for a walk around downtown and see what we found. Jim and I both scouted the area a bit before so we had some key elements we liked, but it was way more fun to just casually stroll and let the images create themselves!
Like below: Bethany is a lifelong dancer and now dance teacher, and since Steven is marrying her I figure she’s had to teach him something over the years so what else could I do as the photographer than make them dance? (Side note: girl has MOVES! you’ll see a sneak peek of her skills later in this post)
After all that dancing, I opted for a cute bench near by to give them a break. See, I’m a considerate photographer! I wasn’t complaining that during that break they took some time to make each other laugh and to just be themselves.
On our way to grab the decided upon “props” I saw this completely empty parking lot and thought it was kinda cool. It was actually semi-strange, we were in Akron on a Monday evening and some of the areas we were at were completely deserted! Made for some really easy shooting because we weren’t trying to deal with people around!
Then the props came out. And they were AWESOME. There really aren’t any words for the next couple of photos because they are just so amazing. The first one I didn’t even realize I had captured until I got home and the second, ah, the second, Bethany is such a gifted dancer that it was just so exciting for me to be able to capture one simple movement. Decide for yourself but these next two photos are just killing it in my book!
Amazing, right? Well things got even more awesome after that – look. at. Steven’s. hoodie. I mean, I need it.
Batman & the Bride. I loved that so much. We finished our session taking a few detail shots of both of their passions: dancing and music. I was beyond thrilled with this session and truly had so much fun with these two. I’m SO looking forward to their wedding because of all the fun details I already know, I know this wedding is going to blow everyone away!
Guys, thanks so much for choosing us to capture your upcoming big day. We are seriously counting down!
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