lindsay + jake, winter engagement photos at Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan

Wow, I have not written anything since November, but I'm excited to be back and with great winter engagement photos to show you! I have spent the last few months working on a new website. It’s been a long process of transferring over client galleries and blog posts, designing new pages, writing new text, and more. In my head, this blog post is acting as my site’s Grand Opening, because not only is this the first blog post written on the new site, but this is also the first time I have publicly shared a link to the site! When you're done reading, I invite you--no, I encourage you-- to explore it! It's prettier, fancier, more personal, and... I just love it and am so proud of it! Of course, with it being a new site, you may run into a few glitches. If you do, I would definitely appreciate a private message or email detailing what needs additional attention!

Now, the reason we are really here today: Lindsay and Jake! Back in November or December of 2020, I found myself doing a happy dance after receiving an inquiry from Lindsay about scheduling an engagement photo session. She had found my work through our mutual friends, Katie and Jake, whose engagement photos I took last summer (definitely check out their session too!). When Lindsay referred to Katie in her inquiry, I immediately knew this was going to be a relaxed and fun session.

And boy, was I right! Lindsay and Jake laughed and laughed throughout their entire session! Before I dive into their Midland, Michigan engagement photo session though, let’s explore their backstory.

Midland, Michigan winter engagement photo of a couple standing in snow and laughing.

how they met

On every consult for couples’ photo sessions, I ask how the couple met. It’s just something I have to know…because 1) I’m nosey/love is great and 2) It really helps me to better understand my couples, their relationship, and how they interact with one another. When I asked Lindsay and Jake this question, they laughed and told the story together with ease and enough detail to paint a vague movie scene in my head.

The two originally met through the dating app Hinge where they completely hit it off. When selecting a place to meet for their first date, Lindsay’s coffee addiction was taken into consideration (Hello, three or more cups a day! Who is with her?!), making their first date a classic: coffee at Starbucks. The date was five hours of great conversation. Unbeknownst to either party, both Lindsay and Jake spent their time at Starbucks in dire need of dinner, but because both were so nervous about the date, they kept their hunger secret! It wasn’t until a later conversation that they discovered both had been hungry and that both had immediately picked up food on their way home from the date.

At one point during their engagement session, I asked Lindsay to imagine being able to tell her past-self one thing, whether it be words of encouragement or advice, about her first date with Jake. Her response was essentially this: He is going to be hungry too. It’s okay to say you’re hungry. You guys can eat together.

Needless to say, that first date—despite the hunger—was a success. Lindsay and Jake soon found themselves visiting the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan for their second date (also where we did their engagement photos) and spending several months making the couple-hour commute between their two homes!

how he asked

Another question I love to ask during consultations is who proposed, and how. In Lindsay’s and Jake’s case, it was Jake who did the asking. From the sounds of it, Lindsay’s dream wedding has always been set on Mackinac Island. She grew up picturing her ceremony on the front porch of the Grand Hotel. As she fell in love with Jake though, she quickly began to realize her dream couldn’t come true. The Grand Hotel only allows small ceremonies of approximately 20 people to take place on their front porch, but just one side of Jake’s family alone is about 100 people! Knowing that Lindsay was going to give up her dream wedding, Jake decided to propose to Lindsay in front of the Grand Hotel instead, making for an incredibly sweet gesture, memory, and story.

their winter engagement photos

Lindsay and Jake knew they wanted somewhere woodsy for their photos. Knowing it would be a winter session, we did our best to come up with an area that would have rows of pine trees to work with. After discussing a couple of options, we landed on the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan where we actually did not make use of pine tree rows at all! Instead, we took advantage of the golden light filtering through the trees in any of the random spots we found. We walked through some clearings where there was tall brush sticking out of the snow, and we sat by the river.

Winter engagement photo taken at Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan

Both Lindsay and I were really hoping for a fresh snow the week of their engagement session. While our wish didn’t come true, we definitely still lucked out! About a week before the session, we had a snow storm. Warmer temperatures melted away a lot of that snow throughout the week, but at Chippewa Nature Center, the ground was still covered for their photos. Not only were we able to still have white snow in Lindsay’s and Jake’s photos, but we also managed to have 33 degree weather and sunny skies. It was just cold enough to keep the snow where it needed to be and just sunny enough to keep us from freezing! We spent our time outside comfortable with minimal red skin, shaking, or shivering. The clear skies made way for a perfect golden hour, painting the barren trees with beautiful light.

Not only was the weather perfect for their session, but before I leave you guys with a couple more of their photos, I have to take a second to point out just how perfect Lindsay’s and Jake’s outfits were too! Dressed casual, Lindsay and Jake totally nailed coordinating their clothes without being too matchy-matchy. Take a second as you browse their photos to truly appreciate just how well they did at this! They both wore jeans with Lindsay in a purple hoodie and Jake in a green and blue flannel. Not only did Lindsay’s gorgeous engagement ring coordinate with the colors in Jake’s shirt, but her hair did too! I think I spent their entire session as well as the time editing their photos admiring this mastery of color coordination. Major props to the two of them!

Engagement ring photo taken by Pabitel Photography at Chippewa Nature Center during golden hour

Detail engagement photo of a couple holding hands with focus on the engagement ring.

It was truly such a pleasure to meet Lindsay and Jake. Their session was so much fun, and I left Midland both smiling and feeling refreshed. We spent their session talking about Disney (Lindsay is a huge Disney lover too!), wedding and honeymoon plans, and more. The entire time we walked and talked, it was so evident how relaxed they were with each other. I couldn’t have picked out a better couple to spend an hour outside in the cold with, and I’m so grateful for their support and trust. Much love and plenty of well wishes to the soon-to-be newlyweds!

Snowy engagement photo of a couple standing in a forest.

A couple sits on an outdoor bench cuddling in the winter.

A few of my typical side notes:

Schedule your engagement session with Pábitel Photography today!
I am currently booking all of the sessions! Contact me to learn more, or check out my services to learn more about what sessions I offer.
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Read about my engagement session with Katie and Jake!