Ariana & Brennen. A breath of fresh air on a chilly, winter afternoon in the heart of Amsterdam. An Atlanta-bred duo who left the states a few years ago for the European life. A girl that is intelligent, open-minded, and resilient. A guy that looks at her with the most tender-hearted eyes.
I met Ariana in college years ago and we’ve stayed in touch via Instagram (isn’t that how everything works nowadays?!) since then. I noticed she’d moved to Amsterdam and I’d always be so excited to see her share about her life there. I got to visit Amsterdam for a few days during my summer abroad in 2014 and to say I fell in love with this city would be an understatement. I just knew I had to visit again one day and thankfully that time came as I was planning a mini Euro tour with my best friend this year. Soon after my ticket was booked, I reached out to Ariana for recommendations while in her city and the engagement session plan went from there! She and Brennen knew they wanted an easy-going yet heartfelt vibe that included the quintessential canals of Amsterdam as well as something more intimate and unique. So, we started at Keizersgracht, one of the three main canals, and ended at Bar Botanique. I could never pick a favorite image from this set, but this first one below stops me in my tracks every time. I think it perfectly depicts the love and connection I was able to witness during their engagement session. A soft yearning, a really intensely beautiful gaze, their hands embracing each other strongly yet subtly. A lot of their images aren’t this serious as they are a really goofy and fun-loving pair, but for some reason, the serious images like this one beautifully represent them just the same.
Holy smokes. These are amazing. I think I held my breathe the entire time watching these!! So beautiful, consistent and authentic!!