This was my first photo trip of 2017 and man is it going to be hard to beat! I put on Instagram that I would be traveling to Charleston in January as part of my partnership with Wanderlust Wed Co this year. My dear friend Ellese reached out to tell me that her and Dave would be there at the exact same time! What are the odds! I couldn’t wait to get them in front of my camera because this couple is just darling. They took 2 months to road trip through America and camp in our national parks together. Their pictures on her Instagram are insane so naturally, I couldn’t wait to pick their brains about all things camping. 

I hadn’t seen Ellese since we traveled to Greece together a few years back. She was single and Ben was just my boyfriend at the time. While having deep life chats on the beaches of Crete, I knew we’d be fast friends. Fast forward and I have never seen two people so in love! We drove an hour to the Old Sheldon Church together and snapped a few portraits at sunrise. While shooting, I told Dave he was a champ for waking up this early and he replied, “well, it makes her so happy, why wouldn’t I?” When I asked Ellese to send me the story of how they met, I was met with an email by Dave who wanted to journal their beginning. 

Here is Dave’s story: “It was a Wednesday night and we both had tickets to a concert in town. We each were talked into going to a pre-concert party by our respective friends and, reluctantly, agreed to go. As soon as we set eyes on each other we could see a bit of a spark, just enough to ignite a fire. We made short conversation at the pre-party but by chance were lined up to enter the show right next to each other. While waiting, we got to know one another more and once inside we had a blissful night of dancing, flirting, and ultimately, a kiss. There was electricity in the air. Before we knew it, the show had ended and the sun was rising. We had spent the whole night talking, laughing, and learning about each other. It felt so natural, unpressured, no awkwardness; as if we had been good friends for many years. It was something special and we both knew it. Even trying to prolong the time between seeing each other that night and the first text to see one another again, not to seem desperate of course, seemed ridiculous as we were both infatuated. Many dinners and exciting dates came to pass and in a blink of an eye we realized that we were in fact already living together as we simply didn’t want to spend our nights away from each other. For what felt like ages, but in actuality; was not too long at all, we battled to not be the first to say I love you but I (Dave) couldn’t hold it in anymore. From there it has been nothing short of a dream.”

Shooting these two was a dream come true. Here are some of my favorites!