Brianna and Cole | Engaged

Ever since I’ve known Brianna—a range of time that spans her whole life—the days I have seen her without a smile are few and far between. As cousins, we grew up eating from the same vinyl-covered kitchen table in our Lola’s house, and spent afternoons playing on the same playground set that occasionally housed a bees’ nest.

Her fierce independence as a little girl has only been amplified by the adventurousness of her early 20s. After college, she ventured towards the south where she found both a new home and a new love in Tennessee. It had been years since I last saw her in person when she told me she booked a trip to Colorado with her new fiance, Cole.

Although it had been a few months since my move to Colorado, the majority of my time was spent looking for a job and eventually starting one; so by the time Brianna and Cole got to Colorado, I jumped at the chance to get behind the camera to take their engagement photos.

Initially, I wanted to photograph Brianna and Cole near the Foothills to accurately capture their Colorado experience. When they got here, most of the Front Range was clouded in a thick smog from a record-breaking wildfire, so we had to pivot to a new location. Inspired by the warm glow of the native grasses, I met the duo at Eastlake Preserve in Thornton, a lake bordered by a paved trail with easy access for photos.

The two talked about their day as I captured a few preliminary candids. Their afternoon was spent playing on motorized scooters and sipping margaritas in Colorado Springs; while they told me how exhausted they were, I couldn’t tell by their smiles. The genuine happiness expressed between these two was palpable and augmented by the radiant glow surrounding them.

As we walked along the trail, we paused for bits of laughter caused by Brianna and Cole’s shared goofiness. Their comfort and friendship could’ve fooled me into believing these two had known each other for years, and it showed behind the lens. There’s no greater treat to a photographer than a couple that doesn’t need to be told to smile.

The three of us wrapped up our session along the shore, where the couple engaged in a few moments of dancing and twirling. Cole brought up his mother, herself a dancer, while spinning Brianna around in a cascade of curly hair and laughter. As lucky as I am to capture these intimate moments, I thought about how lucky Cole and Brianna are to have found one another.

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