Katrina and Katie’s charming & candid engagement session

Katrina and Katie are two wonderful souls. Katrina and Katie are both Oles (like me!), and I first met Katrina back at St. Olaf where we took several classes and even studied abroad together. I met Katie more recently, and it has been such a delight to get to know them together as a couple. I was thrilled when they asked me to take their engagement portraits! 

Katrina and Katie both have a lovely, warm, and easy-going energy that they wanted to shine through in their engagement portraits. They value intentionality and authenticity, and they wanted their portraits to document their everyday life in a way that felt both natural and fun.  

Some couples, like Katrina and Katie, opt for a more lifestyle approach to their engagement portraits where we plan the session around real activities. Katrina and Katie wanted portraits out on a wintry adventure together as well as in their cozy home in South Minneapolis. 

In line with this lifestyle approach, Katrina and Katie decided to begin their engagement session at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, MN, at this gorgeous outdoor public skating rink. Putting on their skates and stepping onto the ice, they truly look like they are off on a happy little adventure. While they skated across the ice and under the charming bridges, I followed along (in my boots!) to capture them skating together, laughing, and embracing one another. 

Afterwards, we traveled back to South Minneapolis to document the place they call home. They wanted to capture a cozy moment together with a relaxed, everyday feeling, so I photographed them making a cup of hot cocoa together in their kitchen – they look so joyful and at ease. Katrina and Katie also have the sweetest pup named Cucumber that they wanted to feature in their engagement session. They have an adorable tradition of making Cucumber a “puppuccino” in his own little mug when they have cocoa, and of course that had to be documented too! 

I love these pictures of Katrina and Katie chatting at their kitchen table. This was such a sweet moment from their lives to capture in a photograph. Illuminated by the glowing light from their big bay windows and surrounded by all their plants, they look so content. 

We finished the engagement session in their living room, where Katrina, Katie, and their dog Cucumber all snuggled up together on the couch. These portraits are some of my favorites from the day. They offer such a sweet window into the everyday delight Katrina and Katie have created together in their cozy home.