We met at sunrise and caught some quiet moments at Ault Park before the day officially began on Saturday! Mornings are generally not my thing and tend to require a heavy dose of coffee in order for me to function! But this sunrise session with Derek and Emily in Cincinnati was one of those rare, “no coffee necessary” kinda days! The joy and love that these two brought with them infused itself into everything and just brightened the rest of the day!

From the moment Emily emailed me, I just knew she was going to be my kind of bride! In the paragraphs describing their love story, she told me all about how her and Derek met while serving as traveling camp counselors who became fast friends and later began dating! From their very first date, when he drove all the way to Emily’s college campus to see her perform in a band concert, Derek knew that Emily was the one that he loved! It took her a bit longer to come around, specifically a little trip to the Ohio State Fair. They grew in love together through a long distance relationship during college semesters. And one day, as a birthday present to Emily, Derek got down on one knee and asked her to spend forever with him!

These two will be getting married in December of 2018 and I could not be more excited!! (come on Christmas!) From her red dress to the mistletoe that will also make its debut on their big day, their classic Christmas inspired engagement session quickly stole its way into my heart!! Beyond all of the cute styled elements, my ultimate favorite things were definitely the way that Derek adored his bride (like there was no one else in the world) and Emily’s cute little laugh because she is just so in love! It took me so long to even narrow down my choices for their blog post! So, enjoy a few extra of my favorites from Derek and Emily’s engagement session!