a playful carnival themed couples session

Over the past couple of months I’ve been working on putting together a style guide for future Expressions clients. The number one question I would get directly after booking was “What do we wear?”.  I’m thrilled to be able to say that now I have a complete guide to answer that for you!  Inside our printed magazine guide you’ll find male and female tips on what to wear, how to coordinate outfits for your family, location inspiration and more. I can’t wait to share the finished product with you soon!

One of my style guide bucket list shoots for location inspiration was to have a carnival or state fair theme!  I shared about this idea on our Instagram and Shannon almost instantly responded. You may remember Shannon and her husband Tyler from their youngest daughter, Hadlie’s, newborn session which you can see here. Shannon said that if I could talk Tyler into it, she was all in! Tyler had no objection  to spending the evening with his beautiful wife at the carnival and a promised funnel cake!

Through our conversation, I learned that Shannon + Tyler had never had professional photos taken of them alone together. Shannon’s mom took some photos at their wedding. After getting married, they used the money they saved to buy a home and now have two adorable daughters. They are now celebrating their five year wedding anniversary. I was elated that this all fell into place for everyone.

Shannon was so enthusiastic about our shoot, I couldn’t wait for the date to get here.  She immediately sent me pictures of dresses as well as ideas for outfits for Tyler.  As soon as we decided on what to wear I really saw this vision come to life!  Tyler even took my advice on wearing navy suspenders which complimented Shannon’s lace accented dress!  Man did it pay off!  They couldn’t have looked any cuter! Shannon even thought they looked like they were out of The Notebook!

The carnival setting is perfect for engagement, couples and small family sessions. It encourages people to have fun, relax and smile which makes for great REAL LIFE photos. When we arrived the first thing I had Shannon + Tyler do was play a game. Good thing he won!

After the game and some shots with the iconic ferris wheel, Shannon + Tyler indulged in everyone’s favorite carnival snack, the funnel cake. As we were finishing up the session, people were walking in with folding chairs to watch the town band that had just started to play. Surrounded by a sea of casually dressed carnival goers, Shannon + Tyler danced to the band in their much dressier attire. It was such a sweet moment to capture and spotlighted the best pair!

Shannon + Tyler, thank you for trusting my vision and being just as excited as I was for it to all come together. It was such an honor to witness the love you have for each other (again) and see how much fun you still have together! I am so glad you finally have some professional photos of just the two of you.

-xo-

Jamie