Lexie and Emily chose Charlottesville, Virginia’s unique IX Art Park for their engagement photos. I knew we would have fun there since there is so much to explore in the way of weird, wonderful public art. There are some park-like areas with long natural plantings and grasses, and some urban looking areas with giant murals and interactive sculptures. There’s a big wall there saying “Before I Die I want to….” and below that, lots of lines and chalk for people to write their hopes and dreams. Each time I visit IX, I love to see what the latest visitors have written on those lines. I thought it would be a great ice breaker to start the session with Lexie and Emily writing out 3 things that they wanted to do before they die- I told them to pick one thing they want to do for themselves, one thing they want to do for the other, and one thing they want to do together. You can see what they wrote in the pictures below!

These two were so fun and easy to work with. They were super comfortable and relaxed, and a little bit giddy! They were always being funny and making each other laugh, and always smiling! They got engaged at Disneyworld, and they brought some Magic Kingdom and Epcot mugs they bought there which we played around with at one point in the shoot.

When Lexie and Emily first contacted me about doing a fall engagement shoot, they asked if I was LGBT-friendly. And I replied “Of course I am! (And I hate the fact that you have to ask me that question at all.)” For the record, in case anyone wants to know, I love lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, transgender people, and I love cisgender people too. I love all people. Everyone must be true to themselves! And Love is Love. I’m a big supporter of Marriage Equality. It was a very happy and historic day last year when gay marriage became legal in all 50 states. And now amazing, joyful, devoted couples like Lexie and Emily can be legally married to match the commitment they have already made in their hearts.