Stan Hywet Engagement Session
Lana + Zach
As the weather gets less gloomy and everything comes back from the dead (including us), it has us pining for those sunny shoots like Zach and Lana’s Stan Hywet Engagement Session. So as we wait impatiently for the weather to be nicer for more than two days at a time, please enjoy this session full of not brown grass, the freaking SUN, and these lovebirds at their engagement session.
THE MEET-CUTE
Zach and Lana met up with us at our fave place in the world to drink coffee, Walkie Talkie Espresso and Coffee (duh). I’m pretty sure we didn’t even talk about the fact that they were getting married for the entirety of our meeting until the last 5 minutes before the coffee shop closed for the day. Whoops. And that’s just how we roll. We spent our time chatting about The Office, sharing our favorite characters, quotes, episodes, etc. When you can talk for 45 straight minutes about your favorite TV show with strangers and none of you tire of the conversation, you know its a match made in heaven. We were all equal parts sarcasm and Office love.
THE SHOOT
This Stan Hywet engagement session was a little extra sentimental because Zach had arranged a surprise proposal to Lana at Stan Hywet just months prior to getting their actual engagement photos shot there. Extra cute, right?
I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this, but we’re kinda into gardening and nature. Just kinda-sort. Needless today, it was a huge treat to shoot this Stan Hywet engagement session. Stan Hywet is a historic estate up in Akron, Ohio that’s full of garden after garden, and to put the cherry on top, one of our personal favorites, a freaking 65,000 square foot Tudor mansion (which during this time, unfortunately, was off limits due to the global panini). However, there were 70 acres of glorious gardens at our disposal for this Stan Hywet engagement session. Basically, we were kids in a candy store.
Zach and Lana’s vibe fits with us perfectly, as we had discovered when we grabbed a coffee together—dark and moody vibes with a large side of sarcastic. Even though it was a bit hot and humid that day, we had plenty of opportunity for some shade and really dynamic light pockets as we wandered around the gardens like some of the tree allées, especially their most iconic birch allées (and can we all just say: SUN WE MISS YOU, PLEASE COME BACK SOON).
We all admired the peacefulness of the smaller, quieter gardens too, like the English Garden, as Zach and Lana were able to really connect with one another against the backdrop of stunning, deep green ivy and bubbling of the fountains. Shooting in urban settings, homes, etc. is fantastic, but there’s just something about seeing two people who love each other connect in nature that’s just plain rad (and especially with it being the location of the start of their journey together).
Lana and Zach, thanks for laughing with us, letting us get weird, and putting up with Luke’s complaining.
If you’re interested in booking your own Stan Hywet engagement session or wedding, make sure to reach out to them! There are fees to shoot there, but they provide you with a set day and time for your shoot, as well as a guide to help get to the best photo spots not everyone knows about. 20/10 would recommend shoot here, daydreaming about living here, etc.
Planning your own Stan Hywet engagement session or wedding, or looking to start? Or just in need of some rad photographers to grab some ‘za with and socially distance hang (we even do virtual coffee dates)? We shoot everything from elopements to pizza. Shoot us a message and talk to our cats (aka the office administrators) for more information! Now booking for 2021 and 2022.