Chicago has a way of making every session feel cinematic, but this engagement session with Carolyn + Elliot felt truly unforgettable from the moment we arrived.
All afternoon, we watched the weather shift across the skyline, constantly checking radar updates and wondering if we’d actually be able to pull this off before the storm hit. Somehow, we squeezed their engagement session in right before the city was slammed with heavy rain, flooding, and one of the wildest spring storms I’ve seen in a long time.
Every few minutes, the entire atmosphere changed.
The clouds rolled in over the lakefront, the wind picked up harder with every stop, and the light transformed constantly as we moved through the city. It honestly felt like photographing inside a moving painting. One second everything was soft and glowing, the next dramatic storm clouds filled the skyline behind them.
And then somehow, as if the session couldn’t get any more surreal, a surprise double rainbow appeared over the city.
It was one of those moments that didn’t feel real.
Carolyn + Elliot fully embraced every part of it. Wind in their hair, raindrops starting to fall, the city moving around them - none of it mattered. They stayed completely present with each other the entire evening, which made these images feel even more honest and emotional.
Sessions like this are exactly why I love photographing couples in a more candid and intentional way. The best images rarely come from perfect conditions. They come from real moments, unpredictable weather, movement, emotion, and couples who trust the process.
As a Michigan wedding photographer documenting weddings and engagement sessions throughout the Midwest, sessions like this remind me why I love traveling for my couples and creating imagery that feels natural, cinematic, and true to who they are.
I’m already counting down to celebrating with these two on their wedding day later this year.
Whether you’re planning a wedding in Grand Rapids or traveling for an adventurous engagement session, documenting real connection will always be at the center of my work.
