I had been watching the weather ALL week hoping for the perfect weather for Mike and Roberta’s engagement session.  When the day arrived, I could tell that we were going to have the perfect conditions for a snowy and sunny engagement shoot in Syracuse NY!  Whew, what a relief!  It was a relief because today was the third reschedule for their session!  The first time we scheduled their engagement shoot, the weather was horrible… a mix between pouring rain and wet, wet snowflakes that made seeing 5 feet in front of you virtually impossible.  The second date we scheduled, they had a family emergency the night before.  Even though they hadn’t slept ALL night long, they were still considering driving to Syracuse for their session that day.  To complicate matters, they live 3ish hours from Syracuse! Thankfully she told me what they had been through that night and I told them we’d reschedule.  No need to kill yourself for this!  :). Besides that, I want the whole engagement session experience to be fun and enjoyable… not stressful and exhausting!  SO… when we set a third date, I was praying that the weather would hold and that everything would work out.  And it did… both snowy AND sunny for their Syracuse engagement shoot!

 

When we moved to our starter home in Camillus NY years ago, the first thing I did was ask Andrew if we could get a puppy. I had been aching for a furry friend… particularly one that was loveable, great with kids and could be a good running buddy for me.  To be honest, we had a deposit down on a puppy before we moved into our house!  So the moment we moved in, I started looking for good places to walk him.  The Erie Canal in Camillus, NY was only a half mile from our house and so that was our spot.  Once a day (at least) we’d get out on the trail and walk along the different sections of the canal.  Not only do I love history and the whole story behind the canal, but as I walked, I realized how perfect it would be for photo sessions!  We don’t live in that house anymore but I STILL bring some of my couples here because it has so many great spots to photograph.  So we started their session at the Canal as Roberta and Mike both loved the idea of having it near water.  The ducks were even out on the canal that day!

You can’t actually tell that there is water behind Mike and Roberta in this photo because its all iced over but the boat house here makes a great rustic backdrop!

From there, we headed up the road just a few miles to the Camillus Unique Forest Area… another one of my favorite places to shoot!  I’m telling you, the sun on the yellow “wheat grass” was just magical!  It adds so much color to an otherwise wintery field look!

I have to tell you though, these two were TROOPERS!  Not only did they spend half their day traveling to Syracuse, but they stood out in the 20 degree weather with a wind chill to boot!  I had brought hand warmers for each of us and in the end, we put a pair of hand warmers in Roberta’s boots!  Should have listened to my friend Kayla who suggested toe warmers too!  Next time!…

The thing about Mike and Roberta is… they actually really LIKE each other and are ACTUALLY in love!  I would give them instructions with something to do for the pictures and as I would tell him, “Good!… that’s perfect guys, I’ve got it!”, and put my camera down, he would pull Roberta into a sweet bear hug and kiss the top of her head.  Just watching them interact I can tell the love and admiration they have for each other!  One of the times Mike did this I caught it and the photo made it into the blog post!  After you get through the whole post see if you can pick out which photo it is and tell me either on Instagram under the photo of Mike and Roberta or in the comments below!

 

 

I also kept commenting on how much I LOVED Roberta’s long, curly hair and how the sunlight caught it!  She told me to enjoy it while its down as she is thinking of putting it up for their wedding day!

Mike told me that the day he bought Roberta’s engagement ring, it was an impulse buy!  He was in the mall and said to his buddy, “Hey, I’m going to stop into this jewelry store quickly”, and next thing he knew, he was walking out the of the store with an engagement ring!

These two had been dating but hadn’t talked much about marriage. So when he proposed, she was SHOCKED but of course, said yes!  I love those stories when the bride is surprised though I imagine it takes a lot of bravery on the groom’s part!

And these red boots with her ring!… where is my “heart eyed” emoji when I need it?!

I just loved the expression and laughter in this series!

 

As the sun began to lower, we started wrapping up their snowy, sunny Syracuse engagement shoot!

 

 

 

I loved the light in all these photos but this particular spot was especially magical!

I loved hanging out with Mike and Roberta during their engagement session and getting to know them!  I feel like we’ll be photographing a friend’s wedding because I know them now and it makes me that much more excited for their wedding day at Belhurst Castle at the end of May this year!

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