When I found out Violet and Adrian had a wintery engagement shoot in mind, we attempted to schedule the shoot for a cold weekend in early February when it would be very likely to snow. Well, that weekend it just so happened that a HUGE snow storm hit most of the Philadelphia and Lancaster areas HARD. With almost 28 inches on the ground in Lancaster, the hardest part was breaking it to Violet that the storm had miraculously not touched the Poconos AT ALL… not ONE INCH. They had all the drawbacks of having to brave the weather to drive over to me, only to miss out on their winter wonderland anyway. That’s when the idea to shoot at multiple locations, including Shawnee Ski resort, where there WAS snow came to me. We made some last-minute changes to our plans, and when we arrived at Shawnee, I have to hand it to Violet, she really spotted these tall cattails near the entrance.

Then I saw a cute opportunity for a playful shot in front of the Ski Rental building, which seemed surprisingly clear of other patrons.

Having seen pictures of the lodge online, Violet wanted a silhouette in front of a large window in view from the second floor. I wasn’t a fan of the scaffolding getting in the way of my perfect silhouette, but the thin line of white light around the couples’ faces salvaged this picture.

We noticed the deck outside was open to patrons, but it was VERY narrow, and other people enjoying the view nearby were not shy to ask us plenty of questions. As usual, when they found out an “engagement shoot” was being conducted, they were very courteous, and a few people even moved to make room for me to get the perfect angle for this picture. I love Violet’s very natural/giddy smile in this photo, and feel that it captured her sweet, playful personality very well.

We found there were plenty more photo opportunities inside the lodge as well, and we made the most of the flattering wooden interior every chance we got.

Outside, we were a little put off by our lack of beautiful background options and the looming possibility of being trampled by a novice skier/snowboarder at any moment, but it didn’t stop us from finding the best possible spot and fulfilling Violet’s “wintery” requirement.

We decided to go to Main Street to get a few more images to add variety to our collection. I made sure to get a shot of Violet’s ring, which she requested earlier in the day.

Afterwards, we scouted out a bench for some cute, snuggly guy/girl photos. I was amazed at how the camera-shy and anti-PDA Adrian had really warmed up to the session by this point and his cute, affectionate behavior in front of the camera really brought a natural happy smile to Violet’s face.

As we were looking for our next location, I noticed the shadows being cast by the two of them holding hands. While I could have just asked them to stop in a good place (one without a street/sidewalk transition below) — a true photojournalist — I clicked away while walking to get the exact shot I was looking for. In retrospect this was not the greatest idea, as I subsequently ran straight into a pole shortly after getting this shot. At least the three of us got a good laugh out of it!

Violet, who had no shortage of excellent ideas, also noticed a record store along the street and wanted to take pictures inside. We asked permission from the owner, who kindly obliged and we were able to get some nice images with personal meaning to the classic-record-loving couple.

I have no idea what kind of dolls these were, but both Violet and Adrian recognized them and were excited to get pictures with them. For a very young couple, they certainly seemed to have old souls.

Afterwards, the store owner definitely gave us a story to tell when she insisted on having photos taken with her and the couple. She kept asking me, “Who do I kiss?” And I have no doubt that she actually intended on kissing one of them had I not kept insisting that a simple shot of the three of them looking at the camera would do.

While the record-store owner managed to make the couple extremely uncomfortable, I’m very sure I had the opposite effect; Violet told me later that she and Adrian felt that they weren’t in a photo-shoot at all, just out with a close friend taking pictures. What an amazing compliment! Congrats you two! I know your wedding is going to be a night to remember!