Brandon and Ellen met during a summer mission trip through Cru. 10 weeks, living with tons of other students, with a singular mission to love God and to love people. I’m sure they never imagined that this summer would change both their hearts and their lives and their entire future. They got to grow and change and all at the same time notice someone else who was growing and changing in the same way. That summer was marked by walks on the beach Brandon knew just a few weeks into dating Ellen that she was it. She was going to be his wife. And on a rainy night 2.5 years later, he got to ask her the question he knew he’d get to ask. And of course, between tears and smiles, she said yes.

Oh these two. I’ve remember meeting Brandon when he was a freshman working at Chick-fil-A on campus. And he is an entirely different man than four and a half years ago. He’s been so changed by Jesus and it’s been a beautiful thing to see. It’s so incredible how God has orchestrated Brandon’s and Ellen’s lives to bring them here. Their relationship has been marked by persistence and pursuit. Besides that one summer, it’s always been long distance. Their life together has been marked by letter writing and road trips and phone calls. I can still remember Brandon putting together care packages for Ellen on campus, getting ideas about what would make her smile the most. In fact, Ellen is like a personal ball of sunshine constantly! It’s quite impossible to spend time with either of them without being enveloped by joy. They’ve got smiles they use often. And they love people really well. All that to say, there’s something so similarly sweet about their hearts and I know everyone would agree that they’re a perfect fit.

So as you can imagine, our session was an absolute blast! Claytor Lake was beautiful and Brandon and Ellen were laughing together from the very first pose. They’re both perfectly goofy so we just had so much fun. If you ever spend time with them you can tell from one look at Brandon how much he loves Ellen! It’s in his eyes and Ellen knows it too and it’s the sweetest thing to witness. We love these two and are SO excited to share their engagement session!

We were by the lake and it was chilly, but you’d never know by their smiles :]

Just so much joy!

Love this!

I gave Brandon free reign to tickle Ellen and it resulted in one of my favorite images!

Outfit change! Love their colors :]

All the heart eyes.

Ellen and Brandon made each other letter boxes for all their keepsakes and brought them along!

I loved shooting as they paged through their memories!

Their beginnings were at the beach so it only seemed fitting to shoot in the sand!