An unbelievable autumn hike in Shenandoah at sunset with this super sweet couple…

Kelsey shared, “I first worked with Lisa when I was the Maid of Honor at my friend, Sarah’s wedding. I knew then, if I got married one day, I wanted Lisa to be my photographer. Lisa has such a calming yet fun personality, she was so easy to work with and made the day stress free. I was impressed watching her set up shots and was also impressed by her photos of the unplanned moments.”
She continued, “Ever since Sarah’s engagement photos,  I have followed Rhinehart Photography on social media and been infatuated with all her pictures.  Her photos have a unique, creative feel and she really captures the couple’s personality in her photos. I’m so excited to see ours!”
Mike added, “I was impressed with Lisa’s photos from day one. The detail and overall quality was awesome– far superior to the work I had seen from other photographers. I was also amazed where she was willing to travel for our engagement photos and was very happy with the process. The experience was relaxed and a lot of fun.”
Awwww thanks, guys!  It was such a treat to go on this adventure with you :).  Yes, I’m super excited for you to see these and hope they captured the moments and scenery in the creative, high-quality way you would like, and totally agree, you both look super relaxed in these photographs…

Mike explained, “We love the outdoors and visiting national parks, so when Lisa suggested Shenandoah National Park to take our engagement pictures it was a no brainer. It provided beautiful scenery and gave us a chance to visit another national park we hadn’t been to.  The scenery was incredible.”

Mike shared, “Kelsey is beautiful, smart, funny, kind, and everything else good you could possibly hope to find in another person. She makes me laugh, keeps me relaxed, and makes everything in life better. We’ve been together for almost three years now and I don’t know how I ever lived without her.”
I used a macro lens as I wanted an intimate view of this moment, and to have the ring be in sharp focus, the sunlight streaming in the frame and Kelsey’s gorgeous smile and the icing on the cake for sure…

Kelsey explained, “We told Lisa we loved hiking and had been to a few National Parks and was thrilled to hear that not only was she willing to travel to Shenandoah, but was the one to suggest it!  It was great because Mike and I were able to make a weekend trip of it, which was a lot of fun!”
She laughed, “We noticed this rest stop with amazing fall colors, and no cell phone service.  That didn’t stop Lisa, she was totally game and even was able to follow a map that I texted her a photo of the day before.  I can’t believe all of the incredible places we were able to fit into our shoot!”

I love to play with light and color and had so many opportunities for fun!  Here the setting sun was shining right on them, giving a warm light to them and parts of the trees behind them.  Other parts were in dark shadow, that combined with the lines of the branches created such an interesting contrast in this photograph:

Kelsey smiled, “Both Mike and I are camera shy, neither of us like being the center of attention, so especially I was nervous about it.  At one point, Lisa said just play around and love on each other. Mike could tell in my face I had no idea what to do, so he jumped to action saying:  ‘let’s do couple push-ups!’
She laughed, “I had no idea what he was talking about. When he showed me, he had me cracking up and that was when I started to feel a lot more comfortable in front of the camera. This is pretty much our life every day. He always makes me feel so much better when I’m worried or stressed.”
What a great guy and beautiful laugh, look at that color!

Mike reminisced, “Our first date was a Sunday night. I picked her up at her apartment and took her to the Pike Cafe for drinks. I knew from the first date that she was “the one.”  She is incredibly beautiful, has an amazing personality, drinks Yuengling and liked Chris Stapleton.”  He was hooked 🙂
He only has eyes for her…  look closely and you’ll see Kelsey reflected in Mike’s glasses:

Everywhere we turned, we experienced a rainbow of color– here the purple of the distant mountains, blue of the sky, greens and yellows of the grass, oranges, and reds sprinkled throughout the treetops…

Kelsey shared, “Lisa suggested sunset pictures and helped us to time the start of the hike just right to make sure we were at the summit right at sunset.  It was a perfect night for it. The sun was beautiful to watch going down over the mountain. We are so grateful that Lisa was able to fit so much into our time with her and was willing to take such an adventure with us! She has a great personality, which made it a fun and relaxing experience as well. Overall we had an amazing engagement photoshoot experience!”

Kelsey shared, “Mike and I first met at the hospital we both work at.   We would see each other in passing in the cafeteria or halls or would talk on the phone but we never really knew each other. A couple years after I started working there, a cardiology nurse practitioner set us up. I first met her rounding with her during my residency. Mike knew her because he works with her in the Lab.”
She went on, “She gave my number to Mike and in the end proved that she is a great matchmaker!  We jokingly tell our single friends in the hospital they need to get Brenda to set them up with someone. It worked for us!”
More play with shadows color and lines, I thought it illustrated the “blind date-ish” set-up situation well…

Kelsey shared, “The overall feel we were going for with our engagement shoot was a natural, outdoorsy, casual feel. We wanted to do something that showed our personalities and interests. We love to travel, the outdoors, and hiking. These interests were all captured in our fall shoot in Shenandoah National Park. I also liked Lisa’s idea to incorporate the sunset into the shoot because it gives some of the pictures a more romantic feel.”
That sunset though…

Kelsey shared, “I think Mike and I hit it off from the start because we have very similar laid back personalities and have similar interests.  I love the way Mike supports me and helps me to relax.  He knows how to make me laugh which is pretty much guaranteed to make me feel better.”
The red forest foliage was illuminated by the setting sun, and those mountains– wow!!  This definitely feels supportive to me:

Yes, this is our final destination, we took Stony Man Trail to  Stony Man Summit. The views were amazing.
Haaa Mike’s “couple push-ups” still makes me smile, I’ll have to use that one, guys!

Kelsey & Mike, thank you for inviting me to come along on this adventure with you and for sharing your story with me!  Kelsey, I’m so thankful that you remembered me from Sarah’s wedding *almost five years ago* and have been following my work even before you met Mike!  I hope these are just as emotional, creative and as much fun as I had hiked with you two!  Can’t wait for your upcoming Stroudsmoor Terraview wedding this fall!