Since the day I met both Reneé and Jon, I’ve been looking forward to their engagement session! They’re incredibly sweet people and we immediately hit it off! They also just got a black lab puppy (Bella) so we spent a lot of our time together talking about dogs. 🙂

After hair and make by Blushing Beauty, we started our time together at Beutter park. The leaves are starting to turn just slightly so we had a beautiful fall canvas to shoot with, even though it was still pretty hot. Reneé and Jon are marathon runners so they often run the path that loops around downtown, going through the park.

The water level was pretty low so we got to use my secret location. When the water is low, it reveals the cutest hidden gem, just under the bridge. You’re standing on shells and sand with a back ground of green ivy… perfect for an engagement shoot!

Next it was off to Saint Mary’s College. We were originally going to go to Notre Dame but with parking and all the walking, we wouldn’t have as much time. Saint Mary’s is nice because it has a similar look to Notre Dame but it’s easily accessible and quiet. We definitely made the right choice. 🙂

Lastly, it was time for downtown South Bend. Reneé looked stunning in her black dress with a floral sheer and Jon was the dapper gentlemen in his new suit. We did individuals, some walking pictures and then the night shot.

I wanted to do something different for their night shot. When we’re in downtown, I often use the street for the night shot but I wanted to explore new ideas. I was inspired by another photographer’s work to try the shot in front of the courthouse. At first glance, this was perfect, however, the statue of Lady Liberty blocks the front entrance and really looks out of place… at least for what I was thinking. After a lot of playing around and shuffling back and forth, the perfect spot was to the right of the entrance.  This gave us the look of the courthouse without all the distraction. The yellow hue of the courthouse lights made it easy for Reneé and Jon to pop off the page.

Can’t wait till next July! 🙂

To see their full gallery, click here!

Photography: Sarah Sage Photography LLC

HMU: Blushing Beauty