From the first time I met Julia and Rio at The Bitter End Coffee House on Fulton, I instantly knew this was a couple that Aaron and I HAD to photographed. I wanted to stop at nothing to get them to book us, from their beautiful smile to the way Rio would constantly look at Julia with so much love, I just knew they were going to be an amazing couple to capture stunning photos from.

Rio and Julia both love coffee, hence the coffee shop meeting, so of course they had decided on the theme of their wedding, "Our Love is Brewing", which eventually made them come to the decision on having a coffee house engagement session. Rio already had a place picked out in a Lansing Michigan, Strange Matter Coffee, which is an amazing coffee shop on the corner of E. Michigan Ave and N. Clemens Ave. The coffee shop has a hipster, rustic and scientific feel to it, which is right up mine and Aaron's alley. We walked in and immediately knew where and what photos we were going to take.

Not only did the amazing coffee smell and beautiful lighting help us bring Julia and Rio's love to light, but also the giggles and inside jokes Julia and Rio were giving each other during the entire session. Looking at them both reminded me of a quote I heard on a movie once so I had to look it up as soon as I got home. I happen to find out that it was actually a quote from an advise column from the 1940's called Ask Ann Landers. The quote said "love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty though good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses", which is exactly what I saw in Julia and Rio's relationship. Their friendship and love is one of a kind and it gives us a great pleasure to present it to their loves one and to the rest of the world.

Thank you Julia and Rio for letting us be your photographers and congratulations on your engagement!

Oh also, they have a dog named Cali, so us being the dog lovers we are, we just HAD to include Cali in the session as well! So we decided to go on a stroll and capture a few photos as well!

Isn't Cali the cutest!? Seriously, she stole the show with her well mannered self!

Thanks again Julia and Rio, can't wait for the wedding!

-Annay and Aaron