As we were driving home from church last Sunday, I wondered if scheduling a last-minute engagement session for that afternoon was a good idea. Sure, it was snowing and we’d probably get some awesome snowy portraits, but aren’t Sundays meant for rest? Especially those chilly, wintry, just-want-to-sit-around-in-sweatpants Sundays that make you feel lazy? But after meeting Casey and Chad at the beautiful Swallow Falls in Garrett County, MD and capturing what you’re going to see in this post, I am SO GLAD I didn’t let the “lazy Sundays” get the better of me.

I was originally supposed to meet Casey and Chad for an engagement session in October. We were going to capture their love among the beautiful, colorful leaves at Coopers Rock State Forest in West Virginia, but we were rained out and weren’t able to reschedule for another colorful-leaf opportunity. So the idea of snowy portraits came up as an alternative! Casey happily and excitedly agreed that snowy portraits would be beautiful, so for the past month, we’ve been emailing each other anytime we spotted snow in the forecast. My need to keep last Sunday duty-free changed at the last-minute, there was snow falling and there was more snow coming! So I texted Casey and we were able to set up an engagement session for less than 24 hours later! We may have had to tackle snow-covered roads in Garrett County and power through cold fingers and faces, but it was WELL WORTH IT!

Casey absolutely NAILED the perfect snowy-portrait outfit with her red coat!

Spotted this stack of logs and used it as a point of interest for the next series. Happy with my decision to do so. 🙂

LOVE these next few! The snow-covered trees, the colors, Casey’s smile… 🙂

It was almost hard to believe this place was less than 30 minutes from my house where we had some snow, but could still see parts of the ground. Swallow Falls was absolutely covered and BEAUTIFUL!

Some of my favorites from the session…

I was so thankful that we had snow flurries falling during the session! Always seems to add a “magical touch”. 🙂

Casey and Chad even sat in the snow for me! Such troopers…thanks guys!

Don’t worry…none of us were in danger while shooting the next two pictures. It may look like Casey and Chad were standing under those humungous icicles, but they were actually just standing beside them…

And what’s a snowy portrait session without some snow-throwing!?!

So how many of you now want snowy portraits!?! 😉 Each year, I somewhat struggle getting people to entertain the idea. Whether it’s the cold temperatures or the possibility of red noses and faces that keeps you away, I encourage you to reconsider. Like I mentioned earlier in this post, snow, especially snow flurries, adds a “magical touch” to pictures…something that you can’t really get from colorful leaves and fresh green grass. Snowy portraits are unique and out-of-the-ordinary and I hope I get to do more this season!

A special thanks to Casey and Chad for traveling over to Garrett County and being excited for snowy portraits! It was wonderful to finally meet you guys and capture your cute-ness before the big day. I hope you enjoyed strolling around in the snow as much as I did! I’ll see you in June. 🙂