Ali Hormann Photography: engagement

Marine on St. Croix Engagement Session // Autumn & JP

Quite often, when you ask a couple to explain how they met the story falls to the girl. But to hear Autumn and JP tell their story of how they made it to their first date, you'd think you're listening to a well-choreographed script. Not because it's practiced or fake sounding, but because it is hilariously designed back and forth of missed connections, missed signals and ultimately, JP's decision to act now or forever hold his peace.

When the day came for JP to propose, he planned out a day full of fun around Minneapolis so that he could pick out the perfect place to pop the question. However, his best-laid plans kept getting interrupted with massive crowds and long waits that killed some of the fun in the day. When they ended up in a familiar place, JP realized one thing, the place didn't matter as much as the answer did.

With a deep breath, JP said "I've been trying to find the perfect place and wait for the perfect time, but what really would be perfect is if we were engaged."

Autumn asked if we could do engagement photos in her neighborhood and since I"m a big believer in doing photos wherever your heart comes alive, I said yes. Little did I know that her neighborhood was one of the most beautiful parcels of rolling fields and stunning fall color that I have seen. So, we stood in the warmth of the August sunset and strolled through the tall grasses and the whole time, Autumn laughed and JP beamed at her with unrepentant awe. It was perfect.

February 12, 2018
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Minneapolis Engagement Photos // Steph + James

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Sometimes you meet your sweetheart in high school. Sometimes you don't realize you met your sweetheart in high school until more than a decade later. So goes the story of Steph and James. They grew up in the same small town in northern Minnesota. They played the same position on their respective hockey teams. They know all the same people and have a long shared story but it wasn't until James was finishing medical school that their stories collided again.

Here are two people ready for any adventure life throws at them, including walking down a completely derelict set of stairs to get to the bottom of the Stone Arch Bridge just so we could get the light just right. So as they prepare for their Colorado mountaintop nuptials they opted for a city session in Minneapolis that felt just like a great date night; good cafes, long walks and rooftop lawn bowling complete with a tornado warning.

If ever you're in Minneapolis and need a great date night, head to Brit's Pub for rooftop lawn bowling and cold beverages. Just don't forget to mind the gap.

I can't wait to see you both on a mountaintop in Colorado! However, let's leave the tornado warnings here.

July 20, 2017
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North Shore Engagement Session // Becca + Nick

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Nick and Becca have been together for seven years, through high school, through nursing school, through the ups and downs of what it is to constantly feel like you are beginning life again and again they have been each others' solid place. Spending time with them is like spending time with two halves of a whole conversation. It's not because they finish each other's sentences, it's more like they punctuate one another's stories correctly. Asking them to tell about themselves means not only listening to what Becca's grueling schedule in nursing school is like or why it is that the term "mud pie" means something totally different to Nick, but it's also paying attention to the swell of pride that washes over the other's face at the mention of their life's ambitions.

These two are getting married at Gooseberry Falls in August because the North Shore holds memories that come back again and again like the waves of Lake Superior. So, instead of making something work in the Twin Cities, we went to where their hearts are most alive and, wow, did they ever spring to life.

The shore of Lake Superior is mostly rocky, making for some uneasy footing, but Nick was certain to hold tight to Becca's hand. Nick made the comment that all his pants have clay stains on them from the time spent at the potter's wheel. When you meet him, it becomes clear that patience and creativity are qualities that Becca loves about him.