Dylan & Cathy’s Engagement Session at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA

Dylan and Cathy met by utter chance while working on the same Habitat for Humanity project in Illinois, although they are from opposite sides of the country! In a world where organic meetings are rarer, this chance encounter that led to true love warmed my heart. I think it’s so romantic that they met while building a house together, and ended up falling in love from this experience and building their own life together. Dylan works in the field of children’s psychology, helping kids with their mental health, and Cathy is still working at Habitat for Humanity with her love for carpentry and building houses. They both got engagement rings for each other, and are just about to move into their own house together, which is another major milestone to celebrate!

We captured their engagement session at Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA. This is a beautiful area with woods, boardwalks, trails, and fields, providing a wide variety of different backdrops. We started out capturing some shots in the woods to get Dylan and Cathy loosened up in front of the camera, then trekked through the snowy trails to the boardwalk and marshy area for some stunning winter portraits. There is a cute wooden half bridge jutting out over the water near the middle of the trail, and we made sure to get a few photos there as well! We ended the session back at the woods for a few final shots. This being a wildlife refuge, we also had the chance to spot some amazing flora and fauna during our walk, including quite a few muskrats and plenty of waterfowl.

Dylan and Cathy were friendly, carefree, and extremely funny — I’ve never laughed this much at a session before! It was so much fun to get to know them better as we walked around the trails to get their engagement photos. It is so clear how much they adore each other from my time with them, and their love for each other shines through in their portraits! They are truly an inspiring couple and I can’t wait to follow their love story as they get married and build their life together. Check out the photos from our session here!