Mitchel & Chelsea // Ohiopyle State Park Engagement Photography

If you’ve ever been around a “flock” of little kids (a “gaggle”? a “crowd”? a “herd”?) you’ve more than likely paired up the two cutest ones in your imagination: Wouldn’t it be adorable if one day little Johnny & little Susie ended up marrying each other? 3 and 4-year-olds are just so cute so naturally (until they’re pulling each other’s hair & screaming at each other over who had the blocks first). Making future plans for one to fall madly in love with another is just so sweetly simple.

Their story would go something like this:
One God-ordained day, a little boy’s parents dropped him off in the nursery at church. He was chubby & wobbly & had spiky blonde hair. A few minutes after his parents kissed him goodbye & went to join the service, a little girl’s parents dropped her off in the nursery at church. She was bright-eyed & spunky & clung to her dollie as her parents kissed her goodbye & went to join the service.

Believe it or not, that’s exactly how Chelsea & Mitchel’s story begins.
Did the nursery workers that day think that they were adorable? Did they play nicely together, share their toys & snacks, and instantly bond? Unfortunately, we’ll never know, because they don’t even quite remember that day – they were little tikes after all!

But, that’s where it all began: in the church nursery.

Fast forward a few years and their fairytale continues with the cute blonde boy & the sweet spunky girl getting married. My sister & Chelsea have been best friends for as long as I can remember (do you notice a trend here? If Chelsea “marks” you as a friend – you’re stuck with her for life). So, I’ve heard story after story of the shenanigans they would get into.

Chelsea is and has always been up for anything. I think “Adventure” & “Fun” are simultaneously her middle names (and she’s had the broken bones to prove it). Mitchel has always been a mystery though – and so as I would hear story after story of the hilarity my sister & Chelsea would get into, I found myself wondering about her boyfriend Mitchel. Was he just as crazy & on-the-edge as Chelsea? Did he have the same pee-your-pants sort of humor that Chelsea has? Or was he her opposite (you know, because opposites attract) – calm, super chill, & quiet?

Needless to say, I was super excited to meet Mitchel when we got together for engagement pictures last fall. And I must say: he did not disappoint. He is the perfect balance for Chelsea. He knows how to make her laugh yet how to be serious. He knows how to have fun yet how to be safe. And most importantly, he knows how to make Chelsea feel like the most loved, cherished, special girl in the whole entire world – because that’s exactly who she is in his mind.

Even if the nursery workers that day did imagine that the blonde little boy & spunky little girl might get married, I doubt they could have imagined just how perfect the two of them would be together. In fact, only God could have known (and planned) such a perfect love.

Nose kisses – my favorites!

Ohiopyle State Park was KILLING it! The colors & the water & the sun – it was all to die for!

And this is where things got so good! I never put any pressure on my couples to do anything particularly crazy – but I’ll also never stop them (as long as it’s safe). We took these photos in late fall – it was the first weekend of November – so even though the weather was pleasant (it was literally the last beautiful day of fall), the water was cold. Chelsea & Mitchel – ever the adventurers – didn’t even blink an eye though when I asked if they wanted to go wading out to this one particular spot. And what follows (as well as the very first photo in this post) are the results of that bravery. Needless to say, I was dying while shooting these because I knew just how gorgeous this was!

A quick change into dry clothes & location!