Jesse and AJ will be the first to tell you they’re not big camera people. So when we started talking about their engagement session, a traditional posed shoot was never really on the table. Instead we built their morning around exactly what they already do on weekends, slow coffee on the couch, their fur baby, Grover, wedged between them like he pays rent, nowhere to be.

From there they took me on their usual route through Streeterville, out along Navy Pier and into Olive Park where the skyline sneaks up behind you and the lake just opens up. We had the whole city basically to ourselves. Clear blue skies, bright morning light, and that specific quiet that Chicago only has before it actually wakes up. It’s one of my favorite things to shoot and this morning did not disappoint.

And then there was Grover. Sweet, social, deeply spoiled. who collected more friends on the lakefront path than the three of us combined. Watching Jesse and AJ through him just told me everything. The way they love that dog is exactly the way they love each other. Easy, joyful, completely unperformed.

Jesse and AJ are getting married at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago this November and I am already counting down. If this morning was any preview of what their wedding day holds and I think it was, it’s going to be really, really good.