High school sweethearts? Yes, please! Tanar and Grace are like something out of your favorite feel good rom-com! After dating for 9 years, Tanar proposed to Grace while they were on vacation in Destin, FL! I am a traveler at heart, so any time a proposal involves a fun vacation, I am all in! I just absolutely love these two because we have so much in common, and I just know that their wedding is going to be a blast!

Winter in the midwest is a very funny thing. When we originally planned Tanar and Grace’s session, it was supposed to be the most beautiful day. (Well, 50 degrees in February is beautiful to me!) When we got to downtown Alton, we all agreed that it was about 10 degrees colder than when we’d left our house and it was so, so windy! Tanar and Grace didn’t let the chilly weather get them down, and instead used it as an excuse to cuddle up for these absolutely adorable photos!

It isn’t often I get to shoot in Illinois, because St. Louis has so many beautiful locations, but I absolutely love downtown Alton! One of the best things about it is that it is not quite as crowded as some of the other downtown locations, which is why we were able to get that gorgeous photo on one of the main streets! Alton is such a fun location, especially in the winter when other locations don’t have the gorgeous trees they are known for!

If you’re planning your engagement session, try to think about locations that have a meaning to you, while also being gorgeous! If you’re not sure if a location will look great in photos, just ask your photographer or see if your time together allows for multiple locations! One of my favorite thing to do at an engagement session is to start at a location that has meaning to the couple, and then move to a gorgeous park nearby!