Lauren & Preston- Shenandoah National Park Engagement Session

So if you read last weeks blog post, you’d know that I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Shenandoah National Park photographing TWO engagement sessions at the same location for 2 of my 2020 couples! Well the second session ended up being quite a bit more adventurous than we were planning! Here’s what went down:

Lauren and I had been keeping in touch for days about the weather, because it was looking like rain. Even though it was just an engagement session, it would have been difficult to reschedule because Lauren & Preston had driven in town from TEXAS just for me!!!! (or more than likely to visit family for Thanksgiving… but also ME!!!!) So we decided to just do the dang thing and go with whatever mother nature threw our way. The morning of our sunrise session, it was pouring down raining. Luckily it was supposed to stop by around 8am, so we sat in the parking lot in our cars and waited until it stopped… what we didn’t account for was the wind advisory and the fact that we were going to be on top of a mountain.

The four of us started the hike anyways- Lauren in her dress and heels, cold, spitting rain, and wind getting worse and worse as we made the trek!

But boy- was it worth it. As soon as we broke through the trees and the view was revealed, we saw the fog quickly lifting, pretty much through us as I photographed them, allowing for rapidly changing scenarios for each portrait. When you’re in a location like Little Stony Man, you don’t have to worry as much about getting golden hour, because no matter what the weather looks like, it’s going to be stunning. Pair that with Lauren’s flowy, wine colored dress from Lulu’s, amazing attitudes, and a couple deeply in love? You’ve got the perfect session.

I’m so glad we didn’t reschedule their session. It would be so hard to recreate this ever again. Plus, we were able to head back to our families afterward and enjoy Thanksgiving without the stress of figuring out a new date! So if you have an adventure session coming up and you’re worried about the rain, cold, wind, or snow- just go with it. Of course, if it’s unsafe for you to be outside, NEVER think a photo session is worth your life. I hope that that’s obvious… but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get that golden hour you were hoping for!