Kendra and I hit it off the first time we met, she booked her wedding right there on the spot! I love a girl who knows what she wants. Both Kendra and Kyle have been a total dream ever since!

I was delighted to document their love story during their engagement session and i'm so excited for their upcoming September wedding! Kendra floored me with her incredible style and vision for what she wanted the shoot to look like. I couldn't be more excited to share their images and the lovely way they diary their love for one another in this blog!

Kendra and Kyle, you're lovely. Your answers below warmed my heart and made me even more excited for what's to come!

How did you two meet? Give us the dirty details! Who, what, when, where, and why?

Kendra: It all started in high school. I was a timid freshman, he was the ballsy junior. One night at my first high school party, he talked to me for the first time. I was so nervous to talk to this cool, handsome, older guy; of course, he was smooth as can be while I was a stuttering mess. I'm not sure if it was the alcohol or my innocent heart, but I knew the butterflies were telling me something: I like this kid. From that night on everything fell into place. Because high school is dramatic, our relationship fizzled out halfway through my freshman year. Our relationship ended on horrible terms, and I despised him for the rest of high school (we laugh about this now)!

Kyle: We attended the same high school and had previously dated, briefly. We reconnected at an event in the summer of 2011. Both of us had received rides to this event from our respective friends. I ended up wanting to leave a little earlier than anticipated, so a mutual friend of Kendra and I offered to give me a ride. I climbed into the vehicle and to my surprise Kendra was already sitting there. We hadn’t seen each other in well over a year. Admittedly, it was a little uncomfortable at first because I could tell she was just as surprised to see me as I was to see her, and it was clear that we both felt setup. Nonetheless, in life timing is everything and seeing her that night is perfect evidence of that. As we talked throughout the ride, you could tell that there was chemistry which had never before been present. Once I was at home, I thought about texting or calling her but I had no idea what I would even say and I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. Luckily, that same night, Kendra took initiative and sent me a simple text that read, “Hey, I bet I’ll kill a bigger buck than you this year!” and the rest is history!

When did you know they were the one? Was there a specific moment or something specific they did?

Kendra: I guess there was not any "specific" moment where I knew he was the one. However, the entire first 4 years of our relationship was spent as a long-term relationship. I was in nursing school at Purdue University, while he was in school at USI. That's a 3 hour drive! Most of the time, we were lucky to see each other once a month. Through it all, he was so supportive and comforting; yet at the same time, he gave me the space I needed to be independent and my own person. The trust we had for one another was beyond anything I had ever felt. I think that's how I knew he was the one.

Kyle: I wouldn’t say that there was one specific moment, but definitely a series of moments that helped me to realize that she was a truly exceptional woman. Kendra is clearly beautiful, but that’s just beginning to scratch the surface. She possesses every quality that I desire in a wife and in the mother of my future children. For me, it’s watching the interactions with her nephews, just seeing how much she loves those little boys, and how she cares for them as if they were her own children. It’s the way she instinctively comforts not only me, but anyone else who may require it in their time of need. She is undoubtedly the true embodiment of selflessness.

Tell us about the proposal! Did you see it coming? How long were you planning it? How did you fee? Nervous? Excited? Freaking out?!

Kyle: The couple of weeks leading up to and the night of the proposal were definitely filled with interesting events. Of course there was the pressure to find the perfect ring, though I did receive some great assistance from her older sister, thankfully. Then there’s the complete anxiety of asking her father for her hand in marriage. If you could’ve been a fly on the wall during that interaction, you would’ve heard a myriad of ridiculous jokes, witnessed her father singing the “Let me sleep on it!” portion of Meatloaf’s, Paradise by the Dashboard Light multiple times, and observed him jokingly flip a coin to decide his response to the most important question that I’d ever asked. Suffice it to say, that when I walked out of that house with his blessing I was overwhelmed with relief. I proposed to her on December 20th and it was very cold that night, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from completing my proposal. We went out to eat, and then headed to the West Baden Resort to look at the enormous Christmas tree on display. I had reserved a room overlooking the rear courtyard at the French Lick Resort, which is where I intended to propose. That turned out to be a lot easier said than done. I told Kendra that we were going to be meeting my dad and stepmom (who weren’t even in French Lick) at the convention center straight across the courtyard and then head to the casino downstairs. As we crossed I tried to entice her close the display that was setup in the middle of the courtyard. She was having none of it and said, “It’s way too cold out here!”, and then immediately turned and went back into the hotel. I began to panic momentarily until I remembered my contingency plan. I hadn’t told her about the room I had reserved. Earlier in the day, I had put some luggage in our room and turned the TV on and messed up the bed just in case it had to look convincing that it was my dad’s hotel room. So I proceeded to tell her that I didn’t know how to get to the Convention center and that my dad was on his way to his room to meet us and take us over there. I told her that he had given me a key earlier in the day, when I stopped at his house. So, we sat up there staring down upon the location at which I wanted to propose for the next 20 minutes, waiting. The entire time we were in the room, I was thinking of how to get her to that courtyard or if I should just abandon my plan altogether. The more she grew impatient, the more my anxiety kicked in and so I said, “Come on, let’s just cross the courtyard, it’ll like 30 seconds.” She reluctantly agreed and we headed down to the courtyard. I knew I had to make this count or just abandon my plan once and for all. So, once we hit the courtyard I took her hand and gently guided her towards the center, got down on one knee and made my proposal. One word, and a few moments later, out in the freezing cold and light snow flurry, I became the happiest man on the planet!

What is one thing you love most about each other?

Kendra: I love how good he is with kids. I have two nephews who I consider my own, and they absolutely adore him. Watching him interact with them is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

Kyle: I absolutely love her selflessness. She always puts others’ needs in front of her own; it’s an incredible quality to possess. She has helped me to become a much better version of myself and I love her for that.

If you feel comfortable, share with us something silly or quirky the other person does.

Kendra: Kyle totally "baby talks" with our 100 lb German Shepherd named Kane. It's hilarious. Oh, and he has like 700 accents that he can mimic. Equally creepy and hilarious.

Kyle: Her method of using multiple mirrors as she gets ready. Now that may not sound silly to most women, but let me explain. I’m not talking about just a couple of mirrors all in the same room, because that would be understandable. No, it’s the way she ventures all throughout our home, from room to room and peers into seemingly every mirror. Watching her, it’s as if she is expecting to see something different in each additional mirror. She claims it’s because of the lighting in the different rooms, but I maintain that she just enjoys keeping me waiting for her own amusement.

What are the top three things you like to do as a couple?

Kyle: We are both passionate hunters and that’s definitely my favorite shared interest of ours. We both really enjoy snowboarding. Embarrassingly enough, we love to binge watch Netflix during the winter months, literally hours upon hours nonstop.

Kendra: Don’t forget playing with our fur child!

Kendra and Kyle Engagement Session | Evansville Indiana Wedding Photographer