I recently photographed Alyssa and Shane at Alyssa’s aunt and uncle’s farm. This soon-to-be wedded couple will be getting married on August 9, 2014.
Alyssa and Shane met at the Crazy Horse in Bloomington through friends. They hit it off as soon as they laid eyes on each other.
Alyssa also shared her proposal story with me  😉

“He planned a whole day and had everyone in on it. Even me!….Shane made me plan his 31st birthday party at our house after an IU tailgate and we invited most of our friends and family.  We spent the day prior cleaning and I cooked for the tailgate the next day while he “ran errands”.  The next morning I thought my mom had planned a massage at 9AM for us before the tailgate. Before we left that morning Shane handed me a card and kissed me on my way out the door.  In the car I read the note, it said, “….today is the day I’ve been dreaming of.. thanks for pouring my heart into tailgating but I won’t be attending..”  After the massage, I was handed another card that said to come back to the house for another surprise. My friend Katie was there with my sister to do our hair.  After a shower and hair, another card said we were going to get our nails done.  While I was checking in at the salon, my friends Cheyanne and Emma showed up and surprised me from Indy and ATL!  All of us chatted over mani-pedi’s and then I was handed another card.  This one had money in it and said to go pick out an outfit.  I went to Express and DSW with my girls and picked out a tight, no-back red dress and some black heels.  We went back to our house to fix my hair when I got a text from Shane.  It was a picture of our dog Remy standing in front of the Oliver Winery pond. The text said, “Come See Me!!”  This is one of our favorite places to have a date.  When I got there, I started heading down the hill to see him but I couldn’t make it in my new heels so I waved him over.  He walked over with Remy leading the way.  I was trembling as he bent his knee and said, “Alyssa Evelyn Kettler, will you marry me?”  I couldn’t say anything but he knew when I hugged and kissed him and he slid the amazing ring on my finger.  A loud roar sounded in the distance where our friends and family were watching over from the Original Tasting Room Shane had reserved at Oliver.  We celebrated with a Sparkling Catawba Champagne toast.  The rest of the night was spent celebrating at the bar we had also just built in our basement.”

Their ceremony will take place at Saint Thomas Lutheran Church with a fun and romantic reception on the IU campus where they are both alumni.

I know it’s going to be a gorgeous wedding!

Future wedding details aside, let’s get to the present: Alyssa and Shane’s engagement session! These two are real naturals in front of the camera. Their good looks, great outfit choices, a sublime location and their genuine love for each other made this photo shoot one of my favorites yet (in spite of the subzero temperatures 😉 ).

Their advice to future engagement session couples?
“Don’t stress, just focus on being with each other and your natural chemistry. Also if you have a pet, it’s so fun to include them in your session!”

May these two live happily ever after!