Gina has been a great friend of mine for the past few years, and I was so excited to hear that she’d gotten engaged this spring. As I headed up to Colorado for their engagement session, I was eager to meet Mike, the man that stole her heart and asked her to be his wife.

Mike and Gina met through e-Harmony, and it was an instant click. He’s a teacher. She’s a social worker. Together, they are magic. In Gina’s words, “he’s just perfect!”

On the eve of the high school prom he was chaperoning, Mike proposed to Gina by putting the ring in the dessert case at the Cheesecake Factory. I am a total sap for sweet proposal stories, and that is – well, awesome (yes, I welled up a bit when she told me the story).

I was so excited for their shoot! We headed to Manitou Springs, a quaint little town at the foot of Pike’s Peak in Colorado.  I had never been there, but it’s one of Gina’s favorite places.  I can’t wait to go back and visit again! I loved all of the cute little shops, and the whole town had the sweet smell of incense.

First, we headed to the COG Rail Station after ducking out of a cloud burst that we had hoped didn’t spoil the session.

Gina found it quite serendipitous that we caught a rainbow right after the storm. She pointed out that the rainbow is God’s promise to us, and their wedding is their promise, under God, to each other.

We took a few shots at the base of the Incline – a trail that is 1.1 miles at a 68% grade – and marveled at the fact that a friend of ours had hiked it a couple of times. As for any of us attempting it – well, we’ll see. I got winded just walking up to the parking lot.

Then we headed back into town.

This was the cutest little church.

A little arm wrestle challenge! Mike won, but Gina put up a good fight.

Gina and Mike are getting married in December in Frankenmuth, Michigan. I am so excited to visit this Bavarian town and shoot some Christmas-y wedding portraits of these two! Congratulations Mike and Gina!