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Engagement

{ John + Elizabeth | 6.20.19 } - Engagement Session Downtown Goshen, IN

Seriously one of my all time favorite sessions right here! The energy and admiration between these two was an absolute blast to capture!

When Elizabeth and I talked about planning their engagement session, she ended up decding to do the shoot with a mix of downtown/urban atmosphere and end the session at Shanklin Park that was nearby. We decided to spend about an hour in downtown Goshen, IN and capture some of the amazing character and colors that this small town has to offer! What better way to start an evening than a stop at Electric Brew for a couple cups of coffee!

Gotta’ love the ivy and brick!

The weather was perfect for an evening stroll through downtown Goshen after coffee too! After almost 3 straight weeks of rain in Indiana, we were blessed with a beautiful evening for engagement photos.

Final stop was Shanklin Park for a little fun by the pond and fountain! Aren’t John and Elizabeth the best! They’re so much fun to hang around and made our job so much easier since their love and playfulness just comes natural! All that was left to do was click the shutter!

Of course, any couple that wants to bring their dogs to the session is definite plus in my book!

Huge congrats to John and Elizabeth and lots of gratitude for trusting us with capturing these special moments in your lives together!


Engagement Photos - Why they're so important!

Engagement Photos - Why they're so important!

So you got engaged….congrats! Now you start the fun planning process and get to go to bridal shows, dress shops, different venues and start browsing for the perfect wedding photographer near you! All of these things are great fun and but can sometimes lead to more questions than answers. Wedding photography in particular can be confusing…so many options…so many packages….albums, digital files, shooting time, number of photographers, timelines, styles….the confusion can be daunting for someone planning their first wedding.

One of the choices you’ll need to make is whether or not to have engagement photos taken. Many local wedding photographers will include this as an extra option and others will include it in their standard packages. Here at Dave Thompson Photography, we include it as a standard part of all of our collections for a number of reasons, here’s why….

It’s a great excuse to get all dressed up, go out for a couple drinks and lunch, and then spend a couple hours with your future hubby/wifey having fun….kinda like a date night that includes paparazzi taking your pics!

You’ll be able to spend some time in front of the camera, before the hustle and stress of your wedding day. We’ll work with you to help you feel comfortable with the camera pointed at you (BTW, most people are very camera shy, it’s not just you!). We’ll help you learn posing, the best ways to stand, how to relax and how to have fun to create beautiful memories.

You’re gonna need pics for your save the date cards, reception slideshows, guest sign-in books and wedding websites…. this is the perfect way to get them!

 
 

Are you planning a wedding? We’d love to work with you and document your love story for you! Click the button below to get in touch and we’ll meet you over coffee to connect!

 
 

You’ll be happy you documented this time in your lives together. We like to pick activities and places to shoot that are special and meaningful to you. If you both enjoy horses, we’ll plan the session around horse back riding. If you have a favorite local restaurant that is special to you, we’ll shoot their. If you got engaged on a pier overlooking lake Michigan, that’s a perfect spot for your photos! In 20 years, when you look back at your photos, you’ll be so glad you had this season in your life captured to remember forever!

So there you go, hopefully you’ve learned a little bit about why we think you can’t go wrong with an engagement session! Get in touch, we’d love to hear your love story and document this beautiful time in your lives together for you!

{ Kiah + Derek | 1.12.19 } Engagement Session

{ Kiah + Derek | 1.12.19 } Engagement Session

I knew this engagement session was going to be amazing from the first time Kiah contacted me. Kiah and Derek are both Notre Dame grads and recently Derek popped the big question on campus, so they knew they had to find a way back to campus for their engagement photos! After finding their perfect local wedding photographer (me!) their plan was coming together!

They had both made recent career moves that took them to different parts of the country but wanted to get back together for their engagement session at their alma mater campus. They knew they wanted a snow filled love story for the theme of there photos, so we picked a date to “shoot” for (lol, no pun intended). In Indiana, you never know what you’ll get, but lucky enough the weather leading up to the date showed plenty of snow in the forecast, so it worked out perfect!

We started off in front of the famous golden dome for a few shots….the snow was really coming down at this point!

These two were completely amazing to work with! Their natural connection was contagious and it was an absolute blast to shoot with them.

What a better way to start a lifelong relationship than to light a candle of blessing together….

Time to cuddle up and get warm together! Derek sure knows how to score brownie points when he grabs the blanket and wraps Kiah up tight :) They are perfect together…blizzard and all!

When you’re in a local Indiana snow storm, there’s no better way to end a day of picture taking and walking around campus than to have an epic snowball fight!

A huge shout out to Kiah and Derek for choosing this local photographer to capture this special time in their lives together! With all the choices in photographers today, it’s an honor that they’d choose Dave Thompson Photography! We had such a blast this day, it’s surely on the top of our list for the most fun session to date!

We wish we could be there to see the wedding day, I’m sure it will be amazing! CONGRATS!

{ Devree + Joe | 9.30.18 } Engagement Session

{ Devree + Joe | 9.30.18 } Engagement Session

It’s always so much fun meeting a new couple and witnessing the genuine love an connections they share as they are venturing along the path of marriage! Joe and Devree share such admiration and respect for each other and it definitely shows in their engagement photos.

We were able to spend time with them in St. Patrick’s County Park in South Bend at some of their favorite locations within the park!

Of course, the big blue barn in the park is awesome and we had to take a few photos there….

When we saw this long fence full of grape vines, I knew that Joe would have fun collecting a “bouquet” of grape vine leaves especially for Devree….surprise!

Oh, and the covered bridge, yea we had to shoot some photos around there too!

And the big red barn in the background…must have photo!

And last but not least, a short hike through the woods brought us to their favorite foot bridge over a creek within the count park!

Congrats to Joe and Devree for this exciting time in their lives together!

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{ Ryan & Alisa | 10.24.15 } Engagement Photos at Oliver Mansion, South Bend, Indiana

We had a super fun time spending the evening taking pictures with, soon to be married, Ryan Pickering & Alisa Stutsman. After warming up to the camera, these two were complete naturals in front of the camera. We spent an hour at the Oliver Mansion and then another hour at the East Race, both in downtown South Bend.  This mansion is really amazing because of the intricate architecture and detail.  The Oliver Mansion has been a landmark of downtown South Bend for a long time and it makes a super setting for photography.  Ryan and Alisa are both in the architecture industry, so it fit them well.  You can tell from the pictures, these two were genuinely happy to be in each others' company! It's an honor to have been picked to be their photographer, and we can't wait to be able to photograph their wedding this coming up October. Cheers to Ryan & Alisa!

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{ Chad & Nickie | 05.31.14 } Beach Engagement Photos at Silver Beach, Michigan

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{ Chad & Nickie | 05.31.14 } Beach Engagement Photos at Silver Beach, Michigan

We had an absolutely amazing time at Lake Michigan on Silver Beach. The sun was hot and the beach was crowded but we managed to have a lot of fun shooting the engagement session!  Chad and Nickie were recently engaged and are planning on a beach and Caribbean themed wedding, so what better location than this to shoot the engagement pictures.  These two were naturals in front of the camera, they were very relaxed and easy going, which made my job that much easier.  We timed the sunset in order to pull off some amazing and dramatic silhouette shots.  Congrats to these two as they look to a long and prosperous future!

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