Genesee Park Engagement Session

This is by far my favorite engagement session to date! Corey + Brenn put so much thought and creative ideas into this Genesee Park engagement session. Both Corey and Brenn love camping and the great outdoors so this shoot really reflected what they enjoy as a couple. These two are some of the sweetest humans I’ve ever met and I feel so blessed that they chose me to photograph their wedding this Summer at the Pines of Genesee. I simply cannot wait for their wedding day please enjoy this awesome camping engagement session!

How did you two meet?

COREY: Our fates crossed the first time at a “party” that was being put on by the college ministry I was involved in. I knew Brenn’s roommate, and she worked as a wonderful bridge for us to meet. We talked and laughed for a while, and I was pretty infatuated before social graces led us to talk with other people. Sadly though, Brenn proved to be too sneaky for me and disappeared (aka hid upstairs) while I searched the house before leaving without her number.

I knew how I could get her number though; it just came with the cost of being a total creep. Since I was good friends with her roommate’s sister, I would have had to ask the sister for the roommate’s number, then the roommate for Brenn’s number. Possible? Yes. Smooth and/or classy? Not even close.

It wasn’t until several months later that the roommate’s sister started hosting a weekly event we called “Family Dinner.” A group of us would get together every Monday to hang out, visit, and eat food that was slightly more complex than kraft mac-n-cheese or ramen. Since the sister invited the roommate, the roommate invited Brenn! I was invited as well. Through family dinner, we got to re-meet and get to know each other better.

How did I get her number, you wonder? I invited her to a movie night at my place featuring Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Much classier.

What do you love most about the other?

COREY: Brenn challenges me and pushes me outside my comfort zone because she sees who God has made me to be and the potential he has put in me. When I have been selfish and chosen myself over her, she will let me talk and process with her, asking for forgiveness. Sometimes, she even listens with a smile! She has a heart for people that is as big or bigger than my own. She is dedicated to her walk with God and isn’t willing to settle for a halfhearted pursuit of him. What I love most about her? She has chosen me too!

BRENN: Corey’s heart for relationship is supernaturally beautiful. When deepening relationships with people is inconvenient, difficult, and exhausting, Corey’s continues to invest. He is my constant reminder that the relationships in our lives trump work, to-do lists and life’s busyness. Corey won’t let you get away with small talk. He asks great questions and in returns shares his heart’s desires and struggles with you too.   I love love love that he shares these characteristics in his relationship with God, too. He treats his Lord like his best friend… he invests time with Him and misses His closeness when he hasn’t. That’s the kind of spiritual leader I want to follow for the rest of my adventures!

Why did you pick your current venue? What’s your favorite part about it?

We both love being outdoors, having adventures with each other, and dancing like idiots, so when we saw the Pines at Genesee, it was an easy choice to have our wedding there. It captures the feeling of being outdoors in Colorado which makes it a great place to start our greatest adventure together!

What excites you the most about your wedding day?

COREY: I love people and I am very relational. So being able to have a massive party celebrating the best decision of my life with people that will hold us accountable to our vows is a very close second. What I’m looking forward to the most is being able to start a life and a family with the woman I love! No longer having to say goodnight and goodbye. Being able to walk through and experience life with her by my side.

BRENN: I am a woman that can be quick to put up walls, and our wedding day will represent the crumbling of ALL the walls that have ever been between Corey and me. It is somehow beautifully comforting and ground-shakingly out of my comfort zone at the same time. *Sigh* J

Plus, we have friends and family coming from over ten states to celebrate with us, and this is the only day in our LIVES that they will all be in the same room with us! I want to cry as I imagine seeing all their beautiful faces in one magnificent day!

What advice would you give to couples planning their big day?

COREY: If you are thinking about getting married, take the time to talk with each other and seriously consider the fact that being engaged can be very stressful, very difficult, and very challenging. It provides so many opportunities to be selfless and grow in your love for each other by serving one another and helping each other, but it also provides as many, if not more, opportunities to be selfish and harming the relationship. Put in the effort to decide if your relationship is mature enough to handle that commitment, and if not, give it more time. Enjoy dating each other and start putting into practice the lessons you need to work on. Otherwise, be ready to learn some hard lessons while balancing planning a wedding for 200 people.

BRENN:  The best thing for us was counseling. It may take a lot of pride-swallowing, but make sure there is someone in your life with whom you are willing to share the details of your relationship, including the times you have struggled. We are so grateful that Pastor Randy has been that person for us. He has given us tools to love each other well, encouragement, challenges, and has helped us bring to light things we would have otherwise kept in the dark. Vow to be students of each other throughout your engagement and marriage!