Our dog is so incredibly important to Brooke and I. He’s like a rather large, four-legged child. For Madeline and Scott, the story is much the same. They have two, awesome dogs. So it was natural to have their dogs join in for an engagement session at Cleveland Museum of Art.

To give you and idea of how important the dogs are to Madeline and Scott, let’s go back a little. Madeline had planned a trip to the Hocking Hills for her and Scott. Scott, having already purchased the engagement ring, decided the trip would be the perfect opportunity to propose. While walking the dogs in the woods, Scott stopped, knelt down and proposed to Madeline – and her dog! Clearly the answer was “yes” from both, else we wouldn’t be here today. I just love that dogs can be that important.

And what an amazing session it was. Madeline has such an incredible sense of style. Her blush-colored skirt really pops on film. Both her and Scott were awesome together during the whole session. It was really nice getting to know them better as we walked around Wade Oval and chatted about their lives together, their careers, and wedding planning. Speaking of wedding planning, they have a stunning wedding planned for the Cleveland Courthouse in November. It should be a blast and I’m very much anticipating the big day. For now though, below are just a few highlights to enjoy!

This is a story of flowering crab apples, the Kentucky Derby, honky-tonkin’, and a little bit of love. How’s that for a wild mix of subjects.

At the start of Erica and Seth’s engagement session at Holden Arboretum, it was clear that Seth was just back from somewhere. Erica and Seth were chatting about his trip and all the fun he had. I asked about the destination. Seth had returned once more to Kentucky for the Derby. The Derby is one of his favorites and he goes every year. Given the stories being told, I asked if it was for the bachelor party.

That brought up the second subject – honky-tonkin’ in Nashville. Apparently, Seth will head south again soon for his bachelor party in Nashville. As a big country music fan, he’s goin’ out honky-tonkin’ with friends and family. Now that the stories were sorted, we got started with the engagement session. We walked across the valley and into the crab apple meadow. I had scouted the location earlier in the week and knew it would be perfect. All of the crab apples at Holden were in bloom. The entire meadow was alight with pinks, whites, purples and magenta.

Not only was it the crab apple collection, but the rest of the flowering trees were in bloom as well. With the session right at sunset, the scenery could not have been better. Nor could Erica and Seth be any better together. Having not seen Seth in days, it was clear that Erica missed him well. We spent the rest of the evening walking around Holden and catching up. Below are some highlights from the all-film session. I certainly hope you enjoy. As for Erica and Seth, I simply can’t wait for the wedding. Something tells me it’s going to be a blast.