SUZANNE+NIC | cascading pouring spewing buckets of romantic rain

I sat on the ledge of my bedroom window (sounds like the intro to a murder novel but bear with me) watching the rain just GUSH. DOWN. I am looking at a thesaurus right now to figure out what word other than gush could truly describe this rainstorm. Spurt (eh). Spew (ew). POUR (obviously). CASCADE (YES). Water was absolutely CASCADING from the sky and I had to decide, “Do I cancel?” followed by, “Well, the WHOLE POINT was that I wanted to do more shoots in the rain” because “I want to remind people that rain isn’t necessarily bad weather for romantic pictures!” but “I didn’t mean like.. THIS much rain..”

Needless to say, because you are here, reading this, you know that we did not cancel! I shot half of these ducking under the open trunk of my car!! The real heroes are Suzanne and Nic, who certainly did NOT get the luxury of being under the open car trunk to get the shot.

So happy anniversary again to these two! A funny little thing I love about their story is that created their own holiday when they were dating - combining the two numbers associated with their birthdays (five and twenty-four) which became.. May 24. So. Can you guess what day they chose for their wedding?

Read Suzanne’s post The Trials and Tribulations of Marriage and visit her on Insta!

“Thank you so much Emily for this beautiful experience. It was one that we truly needed at this time in our marriage. We are so grateful that we have these beautiful pictures to capture such a fragile, raw, and honest time in our relationship.”

- Suzanne (read her thoughtfully honest post HERE about working through trials of marriage and dancing in the rain)

SEE ALSO
KAMI+MICHAEL | the perfect excuse to wear a floor length gown
LINDSEY+COLE | I made an ice cream mistake

LAUREN+BRYAN | green mountains and the most magical sunshowers on earth

"I felt a lot more comfortable being affectionate in front of the camera years later than I did as a newlywed... I loved the idea of having pictures done where we weren't in our wedding photos. It's nice to have pictures that reflect more of your everyday life- you and your spouse having fun together! It was great to see how much closer we have become even through photographs!" - Lauren

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I always want to give my clients a big, sparkly, never-gonna-forget-this GRAND FINALE moment at the end of our shoot together. An epic kissing shot as the sun dips below the horizon, dancing on a mountaintop, a passionate embrace, just something to hit it out of the park and end on a good note. Like, you KNOW the Lion King wouldn't be as iconic without Simba reclaiming Pride Rock in the rain at the end. At this shoot, we got that. With rain! LIKE SIMBA.

Before our shoot I explained that it would be "very green, but also probably raining" at our location for pictures, but Lauren gladly accepted... she grew up in the Pacific Northwest! Grey, overcast skies turned to showers as we walked around the mountains together for an hour in honor of Lauren and Brian's two-year-anniversary (that very next day!). On our drive back, it came down harder and harder and then the SUN POPPED OUT with rainbows and magic galore! We veered off the road to get our true grand finale images in that sunshiney, rainy, green goodness! 

Scroll through their pictures and words below (that grand finale is saved for last!) (that is probably obvious and I shouldn't bother to explain that!) and then do yourself a favor and watch that Lion King scene again.

"I love that she is not afraid to go out of her comfort zone when it comes to trying new foods or going new places. At the same time, she is constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone and we end up growing closer from it."

"Marriage has made me into a much better person. I had to learn how to communicate effectively, be selfless, and how to love unconditionally."

"My husband and I feel like we are in sync much more now. When we were first married we were still discovering things about each other and trying not to rock the boat. Now we are 100% comfortable saying or doing anything, and are often thinking similar things."

"I have had people ask if the picture on my desk at work is the stock photo it came with." 

"Emily is fun! I particularly liked that she has you engage with your spouse more than the camera. It felt more like a full adventurous experience with my love than a photoshoot."

SEE ALSO
PEYTON+JEFF | that empty misty Yellowstone morning that fed my soul
MARY JANE+MICHAEL | 41 years and a floral wedding dress