Vintage bikes, coffee snuggle session and more!!
After my fiance and I having own engagement photos taken recently (which I’ll be talking about in another blog very soon — stay tuned!), I finally have first hand experience on how awkward it can feel at times being in front of a camera. For most couples, there’s typically a small transition period when they first get in front of the camera. There’s a lot of “what do I do with my hands?” and “where do I look??” Of course, this is completely natural, as not all of us are used to being photographed! This is actually one of the very top reasons as to why planning an engagement session with your photographer is so important (read more about it, here:)!
Anyways, everyone once in a while, you run across a couple like Jessica and Erik. A couple that is so wrapped up in each other’s love, that when they are together, nothing else around them matters. Simply sharing each other’s company is enough to take the weight of the world off of their shoulders. When they are together, there’s nothing in this world that can come between them — not our 90 degree heat we had that day, and especially not a camera. Needless to say, with Jessica and Erik, the transitional period was completely non-existant.
For our first location, Jessica and Erik wanted to relive the moment that Erik proposed! This brought us to the beautiful Ogden Gardens of Valparaiso, Indiana. This was a perfect opportunity for their personalities to take over and give themselves a little time to relax and enjoy each others company.
Once we finished up at Ogden Gardens, we made our way to an awesome little spot that we found on a side road in Crown Point. This was a perfect location for them to have a little fun on their vintage bikes!
As a wrap-up, we shot over to Sip Coffee Shop on the Crown Point square to share a little snuggle session and some coffee!
Jessica was so incredibly sweet and left a few amazing words for us to share about their experience on their engagement session. Here’s what she had to say:
“I cannot say enough about Matt Bigelow; 5 stars doesn’t do him justice. Matt makes you feel like you are the only bride on the planet. Like any bride, I did my fair share of researching photographers, rummaging through pictures, comparing prices, etc…Like Sinatra said, “The best is yet to come.” That’s how I feel about Matt. From the moment my fiancé Erik and I sat down with Matt to discuss what we were going for, we felt that “special” something, and knew we chose the right one to capture our special moments. Matt really “listens” to what you want, and more than that, he encourages you to express your style and really makes you feel comfortable telling him what it is that you want. Being that this is my first rodeo, I really appreciated Matt’s “soft ” guidance and care.
I would HIGHLY recommend Matt to anyone for their wedding experience. I also HIGHLY recommend making this your first stop, because you need not look further!!!! Not only is the talent behind the lens exceptional at what he does, he’s a down to earth, good hearted, and honest person to work with…he makes it easy to laugh and smile, which makes the overall experience so enjoyable/memorable. Thank you so much Matt Bigelow, for your passion, commitment, kindness, guidance, and most of all, making this a MAGICAL experience for us both. I always wondered what the love that Erik and I shared looked like, from the outside looking in, and I can honestly say, I had no idea it looked like this…I fell in love all over again.
-Jessica Dowell”