They were acquaintances through their jobs, but they were mostly friends of friends until they bumped into each other at the Jason Aldean concert. Danny joked with Joann that he wasn’t surprised she was at the concert (she is a huge country music fan, after all), but he was excited to see her there. As the sunset and the music grew louder, Danny and Joann drank beer and sang along to some of their favorite country songs.

Shortly there after, Joann was assigned to work on a project in Michigan that Danny happened to be working on. They realized that they had a lot in common as they worked together, and once they were back in Illinois they grabbed a drink. Joann said it wasn’t exactly an “official” first date, but that night was the start of their friendship evolving into a relationship. As they played Jenga at the bar and sipped on their drinks, Danny entered his way into Joann’s heart and never left.

We spent the golden afternoon hour at Montrose Harbor and it was full of joking around and lots of laughter.

Joann and I went to high school together, so it was so much fun and such an honor to be able to document this milestone in her life and to get to know Danny.

The May sunshine glistened off the Lake Michigan water making the afternoon appear warmer than it actually was. We practically had the whole lakefront to ourselves.

Danny’s family stores their boat at Montrose Harbor, the location that he proposed to Joann, so it only seemed perfect to document their engagement at the harbor and along the lake.

There is nothing that makes me happier as a photographer than when my clients have FUN during their engagement sessions and this photo shows why.