This was a family affair.
Erica is my cousin. And every summer our families get together at a cabin for a long weekend to reconnect. Just the "kids" (although our age bracket is slowly pushing into the 30s these days, haha). In the years since this tradition began, spouses and partners have been added to the mix. We've graduated from college, changed jobs, and moved to different states, provinces, and countries, but we do what we can to drop everything and make it happen when 'Cousin Camping' gets put on the calendar. And so, after two long pandemic-restricted years, we were finally able to get together. It felt just like old times, with a few new faces (a lot can happen in a couple of years!).
This year, just a few weeks before the 10 of us descended upon a lakeside Airbnb in Manitoba, Canada, Erica messaged me with the exciting news that her charming boyfriend, Chops, had popped the question and was now her fiancé. The crew was growing!
What better time to shoot their engagement session than during Cousin Camping? So the crocs and shorts got kicked off, Erica pulled this sweet floral dress out of her bag, and her two sisters descended upon her to get her all dolled up for photos. Something you should know about Erica is that 10/10 times she would rather be in a barn than a mall. Wearing boots caked with horse or cow poop than getting her nails done. So you can imagine there was a bit of fussing.
But as soon as Erica stepped out of the room and Chops saw her, his face lit up. Her dress-wearing anxiety melted away, and they just relaxed into each other for some of the sweetest dockside photos.
But first, bug spray.