His hand-made moccasins had a hole in the toe and showed traces of everywhere he’d been that summer. A tiny dusty grimy hand grabs hold of his and drags him down the forest path, past the towering canvassed tipi’s, and toward the sound of playing children. As they reach the trading post, he catches the eye of the trading post manager and smiles as they both try to hide their butterflies beneath their camp counselor name tags. Cave Rock continues to be pulled in the direction of the swimming pool and Firefly continues to help her young customers at the Trading Post. A pool full of rowdy kids start to chant, “CAVE-ROCK…. CAVE-ROCK…. CAVE-ROCK….”, he glances behind him to see a busy Firefly handing out feathers and moccasin kits… then turns to the pool and cannonballs into the crowd of campers.

Zak (Cave Rock) and Katrina (Firefly) didn’t originally meet at camp, but they both worked there for the summer… and the experience seemed to be game-changing for them. Both from Ventura, they ventured up to camp, pumped to be spending 10 weeks with crazy campers playing, hiking, and learning about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Although they spent their time pouring into other people, their love and friendship deepened through it all and soon after, Zak was on his knee asking Katrina to be his wife.

Zak called me the day after he proposed and immediately asked me to consider being their wedding photographer… we ended up meeting at a Starbucks in LA… and talked for quite a while about…. everything. I found out Katrina is a fellow YWAM Alum just like me, and it was really cool to hear her experiences and thoughts about God, missions, and her life. I love them. They’re such a cool couple with a unique perspective on what life is supposed to be… missional.

We had such a fun time exploring around the Santa Monica Pier area on Monday… and I totally fell even more in love with them during the shoot. If this engagement shoot is any indicator of how awesome their wedding will be…. it’s gonna be off the hook! Take a look…

This was one of my favorites… I dig the raw feel of this shot… pulls my heart strings <3

Katrina is GORGEOUS. And I loved how her laugh is contagious…

This is kind of a random shot, but we walked past this little garden area with these Greek looking pillars… I think Katrina looks kind of like Aphrodite in this shot…

This is another favorite…. so sweet!

I saw this awesome tree on our way to the beach, and I barely mentioned it before Katrina jumped in it and shot me this look that could make glaciers melt…. I love this girl… we’re on the same brainwave.

We finally made it to the beach just as the light turned an awesome degree of perfect….

The light was gorgeous…

This shot was definitely my #1 favorite. She was DETERMINED to get him in the water….

DETERMINED.

Zak… Katrina…. I love you. Really Really with sugar on top. And I had so much fun with you guys in Santa Monica! Can’t wait to hang out with you guys in September!

I loved this area because it had lots of trees with character and age…. This is definitely one of my favorite shots from the evening…

Although Bill has lived in California for a while, his roots still run deep and his heart is that of a midwestern MAN’S MAN. He hikes, he bikes, he shoots… and he loves…. His blood even runs the colors of Navy and Orange. (Chicago Bears colors… holla!)

Bill and Jenn weren’t the only ones enjoying the outdoors during our shoot… their new puppy Roxy REALLY enjoyed the hike. And, like most good looking puppies, Roxy stole the show. She shot just one sweet puppy glance and seduced mountain bikers, hikers, Christopher, and …. me. She was just so sweet!

What a good looking pair!

This picture, I think, encapsulates Bill and Jenn. They’re comfortably in love with each other. I love how they don’t feel rushed to love, and how they’ve spent time building their friendship into each other through laughter, and just doing life together. She can rest knowing her best friend will be by her side for the rest of her life… and he can rest knowing the most beautiful woman alive has chosen him. I’m all smiles thinking of where they’ll be 10 years down the road…

Laurie is one of the coolest people I know. For the longest time, I knew her as “Little Angel”, the strikingly appropriate camp name given to her at birth by her parents. We worked at Forest Home’s Junior Winter Camp way back when… and we enjoyed many late nights talking and laughing as roommates. As we grew older our paths parted for a while and the next thing I know I’m hearing talk of a boyfriend from her older brother. Finally the day comes in June… this guy proposes and she says YES!
It wasn’t until I got to spend some time with Lance and Laurie that I really got the bigger picture. I asked Lance to tell me their love story… because I had only heard bits and pieces from Laurie’s brothers. As I listened… I got that oddly familiar tugging sensation on my soul… the kind of sensation that happens when I see God so clearly involved in someone’s life. Their stories make these pictures all the more sweet… like sugar on summery ripe watermelon….
Their families had been friends for years, but neither Laurie nor Lance had ever paid much attention. Laurie was the straight A beauty who got accepted to California State San Luis Obispo. Lance was the strapping young guy who went off to serve his country with the United States Army… and even though their families were close, their paths never crossed….that is… until tragedy struck.
In 2007, Lance was injured in Iraq. He wasn’t just injured… he was hanging onto life. The short list of his injuries included 3 shattered vertebrae shoved into his spinal cord, all the bones in his chest were broken, he had a collapsed lung, his heart was bruised, both his eye orbitals were crushed, his face had been crushed, and it took about 70 staples to hold his face together by the time the many doctors had done their best to fix everything. He spent a lot of time in many hospitals… and doctors didn’t think he would be able to walk again. All this to say… his injuries were tragic and his family back home was devastated. The tiny light in the midst of all this tragedy was Lance’s faith that God was not finished with him yet. He clung to that hope in his pain and suffering, in his fear and disappointment.
His story inspired many people through the email updates his mom so faithfully sent out. And it was through these emails that Laurie fell in love with Lance’s character and faith in God. She noticed there was something different about Lance… something that transcended the fact she had never met him.

They wouldn’t meet until later.
After spending some time in a hospital in Germany, then traveling to Georgia to recover even more, he had the chance to come home for a week to be with his parents in San Luis Obispo. While hobbling around the kitchen in his neck and back braces, he noticed a picture on the family refrigerator. The picture stopped him in his tracks and he asked his mom immediately, “WHO. IS. THAT? She’s BEAUTIFUL!” The picture was of Laurie. (insert sappy “aw’s” now) It was love at first sight for Lance…. and before he left for an insanely long recovery period in a Georgia hospital, he told his mom… “Mom, I know you’re always right about things when we argue, but I’m going to be right about 2 things this time: One, I’m going to be completely better, home with you, and retired from the army by July 2008 (10 months from then). And two, I’m going to marry Laurie Kohlenberg.” She laughed at the thought of both of those things, and saw him off. Little did she know…. he would be completely healed, home again, and retired from the Army all by July 2008. And little did she know, that Lance and Laurie would fall in love… forever.
Again… stories like this, of people whose paths cross simply because they’re following the voice of God… they remind me of how intricately involved He is in our lives. Makes me wanna jump up and down, raise my arms in triumph, and shout His praises into the vastness of creation. (kinda dramatic, but it’s true)
So for this shoot, I was really excited to shoot with a thematic purpose… I wanted to capture the tension of being in love, the sense of heading out on an adventurous journey, and the tender connection between two lovers. We all had so much fun on this shoot, and I’m so excited with the results! Without further adieu, here’s the mini photo story of Lance and Laurie…

Many thanks to John and Christina Kohlenberg for the AMAZING vintage suitcases, and to Christopher for being the best prop/bag carrier of all time!
I can’t wait for Lance and Laurie’s wedding in November… it’s going to be so much fun!
P.S… Lance… you’re awesome.