Katie + Dom's Winter Engagement Photo Adventure by Boone Photographer Wayfaring Wanderer

Braving bitter winter temperatures isn’t something that every couple is willing to do for the sake of a beautiful backdrop for their engagement photos, but I am so very thankful for flexible folks like Katie and Dom because going on adventures is what it’s all about!

It’s no secret that I love photographing outdoor engagement photos no matter how unpredictable the Boone weather might be. There’s just something special about shooting outside that will always excite me whether I’m discovering some beautiful backlight during golden hour or combating a blizzard that’s creating a wicked case of windblown hair and frozen fingers, it’s all part of the story. Your story.

Dom’s a pilot in the Air Force and is currently stationed in Oklahoma while Katie lives here in Boone, NC working as a freelance videographer where she grew up . The couple is planning their destination wedding for this October and it’s happening at an amazing wedding venue called Leatherwood Mountain that I can’t wait to photograph at.

The couple’s long-distance love story started back in 2012 when they met through a mutual friend at an Atlanta Braves game. After doe-si-doe-ing during a dance break, Dom decided to get Katie's digits so they could stay in touch. It took about 6-months before they made it exclusive.

Since then, their long-distance-love-connection has continued to grow over the years. In Nov. 2014 Dom whisked Katie away to Charleston, SC for yet another one of their adventures. After spending some time enjoying the city, they ended their day at Sullivan’s Island to watch the sunset while sitting on a blanket and sipping Spanish wine, something they did together when they first started dating.

Katie whispered to Dom that this was a perfect moment, and he responded by telling her that it was about to get more perfect as he pulled out the sparkliest engagement ring she’s ever seen.

Without hesitation, she said YES!

When Katie and I started planning their engagement session, she wasn’t sure about a location, but it wasn’t long before she came up with the perfect idea. We just had to keep our fingers crossed that the weather would cooperate.

She was a little worried about the forecast during the week leading up to the engagement shoot because we only had one day to do their pictures while Dom was in town for their wedding planning, but we stayed optimistic.

One thing I do with my couples to help them choose a location for their engagement session is have them fill out a questionnaire. It asks all sorts of seemingly random questions that will help me come up with engagement photo location ideas just in case you don’t already have one in mind.

It’s also another way for me to learn more about you and your fiance! I enjoy finding out about your personalities and how you like to spend your free time. For instance, what shows you watch can tell me a lot and what words you might use to describe yourself as a couple are some things I ask to get to know you. The answers you provide help me prepare so that your session is uniquely you!

The location idea that Katie wanted to explore was photographing their engagement pictures at the Greenway Trail here in Boone, NC. She’s been going there since childhood, it's a beautiful wooded area not too far from Boone's city center with trails for jogging, biking, hiking, etc. It's a super popular spot all year long that's close to town. I've used this outdoor location to photograph people before so I am pretty familiar with the area—it also happens to be a stone's throw from our home.

In fact, it’s also where I shot my very first engagement session back in 2011! While I’ve photographed families and individuals here on the Greenway Trail since then this is the first couple I’ve had the pleasure of shooting there in a number of years. It's just as gorgeous in the wintertime as it is in the spring, summer, and fall if you ask me!

It was a frosty 23 degrees when I met Katie and Dom for the first time on the Greenway Trail. This definitely wasn’t ideal weather to shoot in but the sun was shining and the wind was gently blowing, so I wasn’t complaining. I brought along a set of vintage hand-warmers and gave one to each of them in hopes that it would help keep them from freezing. They also had disposable hand and foot warmers tucked away that helped some, too! Surprisingly, I was unaffected by the cold because I was running so hot.

Initially, we were entertaining the idea of shooting their engagement session at the Turchin Center (a museum of sorts) because of the not-so-favorable forecast but when I got word back that they wanted $75 an hour to shoot there—not to mention the fact that they needed to see all of the images I would capture to make sure none of the artwork was photographed—we decided to take our chances and hope for the best with the outdoor photo shoot instead! And I'm so glad we did because it was beautiful.

While being an outdoor photographer is what I truly love, I was more than willing to be flexible for the sake of Katie and Dom's comfort. However, I’ve grown accustomed to photographing folks in unpredictable weather, so I’ve seen and shot in all sorts of crazy conditions. Blizzard? No problem! Somehow, I’m still able to make it work and turn it into an adventure that will be memorable. The weather can't stop me! ;-)

Katie and Dom kept each other nice and cozy as I captured their engagement photos on this frigid day while I did my best to keep things moving. We almost walked the Greenway Trail from end-to-end which helped keep our blood pumping and our body heat kicking. As you can see, it also got a little hot and steamy, too! ;-) hehehe

I got carried away while shooting and our 1-hour session almost turned into 2-hours. Time flies when you’re on an adventure!

The special spark that these two share helped me to see what keeps them so close even though the distance between them is vast, for now. Katie and Dom are one-of-a-kind and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to be their engagement photographer! I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding.

CONGRATULATIONS to Katie + Dom on your engagement and upcoming marriage! I wish you two epic adventures in life and love, and I hope that your relationship and connection will grow stronger as you continue this journey together! Thank you so much for choosing me to capture your adventurous engagement photos at the Greenway Trail. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek while I finish up your full gallery!

Ready to book your exclusive Engagement Adventure Session?

Send me an email at wayfaringwanderer@gmail.com or message me through my website contact form because I'd love to find out how I can best help you! Now BOOKING 2015 + 2016 engagements + weddings!

I'm currently offering UNPLUGGED PHOTO ADVENTURES in October & November to couples & families that are looking for an alternative to formal family photos! Click here for details!

Hi! My name is Jessica a.k.a. Wayfaring Wanderer and I reside in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains here in Boone, NC. I'm a free-spirited wedding, engagement, and lifestyle photographer who loves working with couples, families, and individuals who are committed to travel, adventure, and laid-back lifestyles. If you think we might be kindreds, I invite you to join the WW tribe by signing up [ HERE ] for weekly updates & get connected to the [ WW Facebook page ] to join the conversation! | Website www.wayfaringwanderer.com

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Sunny Bud

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

~Anne Bradstreet

Looking for some sun in my life...........I plundered through my photostream on Flickr to brighten up the blog. This photo was taken at the beginning of January on the Greenway Trail, another photo from this same day can be found here. Today I have noticed that one half of Boone is dark and dreary while the other half is partly cloudy with a small portion of blue sky showing, obviously the sky can't make up it's mind, so it chooses to be both!

Water Under the Bridge

I felt a little like Cinderella today. I didn't want to sit around all day stuffing my face and watching t.v. so I took to cleaning the house. I did about 4 loads of laundry, I cleaned & reorganized the bathroom, and washed the dishes. Now, those don't sound like things that would have taken me 4 1/2 hours, but it did! What bothers me is that I didn't even get to the living room or bedroom so it seems as though I didn't get a whole lot done, even though I was worn out. At times it's a little disheartening once you realize that maintaining and keeping an organized and clean environment takes constant labor. Sometimes it takes too much work, once you're done with one thing there's just something else waiting for your attention. When it suits my mood I let things go, for example if I'm too tired or hurting..............some things can wait until tomorrow. Anyhow, these little things make a big difference overall, the bathroom looks so much better to me now that things are rearranged. We'll see what we can accomplish come tomorrow!

*To Cody's defense, he had to work today......
**This photo was taken on our snow day this past Thursday when we took a walk on the Greenway Trail. The post processing makes it a whole lot more interesting, believe me....

Cleanliness is next to impossible. ~Author Unknown

Snow Days Feel Like Saturdays

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.

~John Muir



Yesterday was an adventure! When we went to bed on Tuesday night, it was cold, but no sign of snow. By the time we woke up in the morning the ground was blanketed with snow and a thin layer of ice. Cody and I got to stay home since freezing rain was involved making the overall conditions unfavorable for operating a vehicle. We were happy to sit home, and play with the kittens, who by the way woke up us bright and early around 5am attacking our feet as we rustled them around under the covers. Those little buggers were way to alert, it was cute. We decided later in the afternoon to go for a walk on the Greenway Trail near the house to get some snow photos. The photo above was actually taken last weekend, I only wished the sky was that bright and blue yesterday! Outfitted with our hats, jackets, and snow boots we headed out, hiking in the snow is a lot more tiring than you would think. By the time we had walked halfway, I was tired, and didn't really want to walk home just yet. Cody had the idea to go to the Applcart covered bus stop and see when the next one was due. We had to wait about 30 min or so, in the meantime we played Scrabble on Cody's cell phone. The bus came, this was my first time ever really taking public transportation so it was interesting. We got off at Earthfare starved, so we went to their deli area and grabbed a sandwich and chips, ate, then asked the girl about the next bus, according to her it was going to be like 45 minutes! It was dark, I was ready to go home, but I didn't get upset, I rolled with the punches, haha. We ran over to the main area where the buses park and wait in between routes, and luckily the one we needed to be on hadn't left yet!!! Thankfully there were some really helpful folks on the bus who assisted us with the stops and where we would be best getting off at in relation to our house. We had to walk a little ways back to the house, but it was okay, I was just happy we were finally heading that way, it was as Cody kept reminding me "An Adventure!".

Dog Days

*This photo is also featured on the {366} Photographic Blog for day #12 of my continuous series. I have made some updates and I am almost current.*

On Saturday, Cody and I went to the Humane Society to walk a couple dogs currently waiting for their forever homes. Both of these dogs are Schnauzers, the one on the left is named Buddahka (?!), and the one on the right, her name was Zero. They practically walked us the entire time! They were very sweet dogs, especially once they were no longer going warp speed. There were a lot of other people out walking their dogs on the Greenway Trail as well, as they should have been since it was a gorgeous day. It was nice not driving anywhere for a change, staying close to home, but still getting some exercise. Test driving dogs for our own purposes was far less satisfying than walking the dogs because they enjoyed it so darn much. It also helped to stave off my desire to get a dog of my own. I'm not fully ready to accept that responsibility. We'll just go walk them instead.......

Pure White Path

The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

~Author Unknown

*Compared to yesterday, today was gorgeous but frigid. I took a short stroll this afternoon mainly to escape the office. I am realizing that this is something that needs to happen more often. I felt somewhat refreshed when I got back, which enabled me to get some extra tasks done. The rest of the day went by a whole lot faster since it was broken up. It's been so long since I had taken the time to leave the office for lunch much less go for a walk and take some pictures, it was great fun!

Haze of Prosaic Days

*Arrangements have been made and once Cody gets home and packed we are off, again?! I know that we just returned from Atlanta on Wednesday but I am dying to do something 'fun'. We've been talking about this since last year so we are well over due. We are going to be staying the weekend in Asheville, which is only about 2 hours away, a breeze compared to 5 (Atlanta) or 8 (Jacksonville). I found a decently priced hotel, not too cheap, so we don't have to worry about bringing our own sheets!? I'm really excited, it's been a while since we've been anywhere as the tourist that I so love to be, mostly just traveling for the holidays. If all goes according to plan we will be meeting my Mom and Rick down there so that we can all go together. The tickets to Biltmore Estate are running upwards to $59.00 at the gate right now, with a measly $4 off if you order yours online. Thankfully, there's a deal through AAA and I was able to get our tickets for just $34!!! Whata deal, eh? So yeah the Biltmore Estate is where we are headed on Saturday, I can't wait!!
I'm in the process of getting motivated right now since there are some things I need to get done before we head out. Today looks much like the photo featured foggy, & blah which doesn't help in matters of motivation........12 is my dead line to get moving whether I like it or not! I better get off here if I am to get anything done.