You don’t need me to tell you that Courtney and David’s couples session in White Bear Lake was a sun-soaked collection of carefree giggles, timeless romance, and all of the vintage charm a nostalgia lover like myself could possibly dream of. 

See for yourself! 

(And while we’re at it, let me tell ya how we managed to capture the dreamiest of dreamy date nights!)

Don’t forget to date each other

Back in the day, date nights were done right. The fellas pulled into the drive-in, in their 1953 Chevrolet Bel Airs to watch the latest French film noir with their lady, or they danced her around the living room while the gramophone speakers lazily scratched to a crackling Etta James’ A Sunday Kind of Love.

I’ll bet it was something to see, but since it was approximately seventy-some years ago, and I haven’t figured out how to time travel just yet, I’ll have to settle for replicating date nights as iconic as that myself, through my work as a couples photographer in Minnesota.

You won’t hear me complain, though, because there’s really nothing I love more than bringing ‘back in the day’ back to today– and that’s exactly what Courtney, David, and I did together on their couples session turned date night in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

When you’re as hopelessly in love as Courtney and David, no date night qualifies as “just another date night”– and certainly not this one! (Talk about something to see!) Instead, just like the date nights of the ‘50s, Courtney and David’s couples session was history in the making, their love story documented for everything it really is instead of everything Pinterest said it could possibly be. 

You see, the real story is in the way your nose scrunches when a giggle escapes in perfect timing with my camera shutter. It’s in the way the sunlight filters through the trees, as if God Himself orchestrated the sunset for the two of you and nobody else. It’s in the way you know that you can reach your hand out from the old, rickety handlebars of your old, rickety bike, and your forever-and-a-day person will steady you.

Whether date night for you means cozying up with your cutie hubby-to-be on a wool blanket, exploring an old Victorian home that creaks with each footfall with your fiancé, or running through a field of daisies, I get to witness you two date each other, from now until the end of time… And that makes me one of the luckiest humans this side of the sunset.

Embrace a little vintage charm in White Bear Lake

When Courtney, David, and I were planning their couples session, the soon-to-be-newlyweds mentioned that they were up for anything. Being who I am, I didn’t hesitate for a second and quickly put my artistic touch into action, dreaming up a nostalgic couples session that will go down in history as one for the ages.

Don’t doubt it for a second: There is a lot of artfulness in finding props that will add the perfect amount of vintage flair, while also staying true to who you are as a couple. 

Courtney and David are softly playful and adventurous romantics as it is, so two old-timey bicycles (borrowed from my cousin’s classic collection) were just the thing to lean into that side of their relationship. They were able to act like kids again– a little bit giddy and a whole lot in love.

Courtney and David’s love also feels a lot like the sun-kissed pages of a well-loved book. It feels like the comfort it brings you when you pick it up for the hundredth (or so) time: the way the pages crinkle just right, the warmth you feel when it transports you back to when you read it for the very first time, and the fact that it only gets better with age. So, it only made sense to include some of their most treasured reads, too. 

By embracing a little bit of vintage charm through something as minimal as a prop or two, we get to see their one-of-a-kind love through photographs that are as timeless and classic as it comes.

Be carefree about it!

Here’s the long and short of it: The more lost in the moment you are, the more authentic the moments I capture on camera are going to be. (I like to think I’m something of a miracle worker, but I can’t pull authenticity out of thin air!)

Courtney and David really understood the assignment, though. Through Courtney and David’s couples photos, we get to see them in ALL of their carefree authenticity. Whether they are splashing around in the pond, sprawled out on the grass, climbing on top of picnic tables in the park, or twirling around in a field of flowers, you can literally feel that their love is one that can hardly be contained. 

The way Courtney can’t help but grin ear-to-ear whenever she steals a glance at her hubby-to-be, the way David tenderly kisses the top of her head, the way they clutch each other’s faces like they’re the only two people in the world… Those are moments that I’d bet you anything happen behind closed doors, too.

And those are the moments I’m after… the ones that are as real as it comes.

By just being along for the ride (literally!) on their date night, I was lucky enough to capture photos that tell it exactly how it is. Courtney and David are every bit the nostalgic, heartwarming couple, and the photos of their White Bear Lake couples session make no mistake of that fact.

Ready to plan your own nostalgia-trip-meets-couples-session? Let’s chat!