laura + joe // Pittsburgh, PA and the The Duquesne Incline

Joe and Laura choose to have their engagement shoot in Pittsburgh because it is the city where they met, fell in love, and began to build a life together. Laura had always dreamed of getting married near her childhood summer cottage, at Chautauqua Lake in New York, so they knew the wedding would be out of town. The City of Pittsburgh was the perfect place to capture the spirit of their relationship!

We loved spending so much time with them in the awesome city of Pittsburgh, PA! They really took us on a bit of a tour of all of their most favorite and meaningful places. We hope you fall in love with this beautiful couple and their incredible city!

Laura: “Shooting in Mount Washington, on the incline and along the overlook, was the obvious choice – not only for it’s stunning views, but it is also the neighborhood where we purchased our first home together. Including Penny, our adorable Great Dane puppy, was probably the best decision of them all – she absolutely stole the show!“

Laura: “Joe and I met through a mutual friend/family member who thought we would make the perfect couple. The matchmaker is my cousin and one of Joe’s best friends. When asked about the possibility of a set-up, I responded that I was ‘too busy’ for a boyfriend, and Joe (like a typical man) asked to see a picture. Well he must have liked what he saw because two years later he popped the question!“

Laura: “A friendly rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers divides the house each Sunday – can you guess who Penny roots for!? Go Bills!“

meagan + donnie // Panama Rocks Chautauqua Lake

We shot Meagan and Donnie’s e-shoot in the absolutely breathtaking Panama Rocks Scenic Park in Chautauqua County, New York which made for some seriously beautiful photos. If any of you out there are looking for a photo shoot location for any reason, check this place out!

Meagan shared some great memories and reflection about her e-shoot with Donnie that we thought you might appreciate and maybe even find helpful for your own shoot!

“The engagement photo shoot was our first ever photo shoot as a couple, so we were really nervous! We spent a lot of time picking out our outfits, and I hired Lizzy Dugan for hair and makeup because I wanted to look as amazing as possible! We chose Panama Rocks near Lake Chautauqua because it is like entering another world. There are so many caves and cliffs and there’s moss and greenery everywhere, it’s like being in a prehistoric time. So when we first started I felt a little bit awkward in my dress and boots and I felt like every picture was going to be the same. I didn’t know how to pose with Donnie, and I forgot what normal people do with their bodies and hands when they’re posing. Ben and Jenn gave us very little direction at first, but then after a while they started choosing excellent spots to perch and kept having us kiss or hug each other- which was fine with us!! I cannot believe the way our photos from Panama Rocks turned out, it was better than I ever dreamed!”

“We stopped at a scenic roadside ditch filled with wildflowers (at Ben and Jenn’s suggestion) and took more great photos! I feel like these provided a bit of color pop to our overall mix of photos.”

“We headed back to our cottage for an end of day boat ride. We did do an outfit change, and I still can’t decide which outfit was my favorite but I loved the way our clothes play against the whites and blues of the lake. After seeing the photos, I feel like we look like perfect nautical models!! At the time we were being extremely silly, and I didn’t give much thought to posing or making nice smiles.”

“We had such a perfect afternoon with Ben and Jenn, I loved working with them!! They are so funny and cute together, and they don’t make any of it stressful. You hardly know that they are there, and when you get your photos back it’s like ‘is that me?? I didn’t even realize this was happening!’ We had so many great photos it was too hard to choose just one for our Save The Dates! So we chose 5! Our family joked that they were like collectors items! Also, knowing that they would be there doing the same thing for us on our wedding day immediately removed any stress I had about wedding photos. Ben and Jenn would handle it.”