When Austin and Esperanza reached out to me for a photo session to celebrate their first anniversary, my mind went crazy with ideas! We had just gotten about a foot and a half of snow in the mountains around the city, and, luckily for me, these two were open for suggestions ;).
They allowed me to choose the location, and so of course, I picked my favorite spot!
I found this gorgeous little area in one of the canyons surrounding Salt Lake City last summer, and if it was that pretty during the summertime, I should have known it would be even more beautiful in the winter!
Stunning or not, it was FREEZING. So freezing, that we kept returning to the car to drive to each little shooting location within the area (with the heat on full blast, of course), even though each photo was taken perhaps thirty yards away from the last.
Despite the numbing cold of the mountain air, we had a blast!
I went easy on them for the majority of the photos and kept their feet on solid ground, but once the cold started getting to our bones, we decided to go all out for the last few, and I am SO glad that we did.
The above image was taken in knee deep snow, and even though I’m nearly certain their calves were going numb, they still retained that happy “in-love” glow in their eyes! And every time I look at these photos, I can’t help but smile at how much they clearly adore each other.
Esperanza was in charge of deciding the “theme” if you will, for the session, but near the end, Austin came to me with an idea that would have to be carried out on the very last photos we took. Esperanza grudgingly approved, and the following images are the hilarious and adorable result.
Clearly, Esperanza was quite a bit more gentle with her turn, but we all walked away laughing hysterically, and no one was hurt in the making of these photos.
I had such a good time on this shoot! Not only because of the perfect lighting and gorgeous scenery, but also because of the sweet relationship that these two share and the honor they gave me, of capturing their first anniversary.
Here’s to many more years, Austin and Esperanza, and I, for one, am hoping you decide to make anniversary photos a tradition!
