From First Date to Forever: An Engagement Session at The Cafe & Ada Hayden Heritage Park
Last night I had the pleasure of photographing Allison and Jacob’s engagement session, and these two were absolutely darling together. They dated for about a year before getting engaged this June, and now they’re heading toward an October wedding at Ledge’s Park, which I already know is going to be a beautiful fall setting for their celebration.
They’re also in a particularly busy season of life right now. Allison serves as a children’s ministry and volunteer coordinator at her church, so she’s gearing up for the school year while children’s ministry is also ramping back up. Jacob works in graphic design and marketing and helps manage apartment properties, which means this time of year is especially busy with college students coming and going around Ames and Iowa State University. Finding an evening to slow down, celebrate their engagement, and spend some time together was a welcome break in the middle of all that activity.
I also appreciated that Allison and Jacob offered some great location ideas because I don’t photograph in Ames very often. We started at The Cafe, which is the location of their first date. I love when couples choose locations that actually mean something to them rather than simply picking a pretty backdrop, and beginning their engagement session where their story started felt like the perfect place to begin.
Of course, the weather had its own ideas for the evening. With smoke from Canada moving in and an already-overcast sky getting heavier, we decided we needed to hustle over to our second location while we still had a good window. We headed to Ada Hayden Heritage Park on the northeast side of Ames, and I’m so glad we did. The water, tall grasses, Queen Anne’s lace in full bloom, and quieter surroundings gave us a completely different look from The Cafe, and Allison and Jacob made it very easy to photograph them in all of it.
I have to mention Allison’s engagement ring, because it is GORGEOUS, but it also carries some really meaningful symbolism. The ring was designed to represent a strand of three cords that cannot be broken: Allison, Jacob, and the Lord. Jacob’s wedding ring will carry the same idea, so when they exchange rings on their wedding day, they’ll each have that reminder of the foundation they’re building their marriage upon.
Thankfully, the full cloud cover held off long enough for us to make the most of the evening, and then we headed back to The Cafe to finish the session with something equally beautiful and considerably more delicious: dessert.
Allison went with the flourless chocolate cake, while I gravitated toward the Key Lime. Apparently my recent trip to Costa Rica and its fruity influence is still going strong! 😂 We enjoyed our desserts while the weather continued to do whatever it was going to do outside, and then Allison and Jacob continued their evening with dinner—most likely fish tacos for Allison and an Asian chicken dish for Jacob.
And in just a few short months, I’ll get to photograph them again as they say “I do” at Ledge’s Park. I’m already looking forward to seeing what October brings—the fall colors, the beautiful setting, and, most importantly, these two celebrating the beginning of their marriage.
For now, I’m just grateful that in the middle of a busy season, including moving her into their future home, Allison and Jacob made some time to pause, enjoy each other, eat some dessert, and document this little in-between season of being engaged. It was a pretty great evening, even if we had to keep one eye on the weather!
Allison and Jacob, thank you for trusting me with this part of your story. I can’t wait for October!
