Carol called me earlier in the Summer to talk about a Fall portrait session for her and her husband, Jim. Eight years ago, they were married in the Outer Banks and while they liked their wedding photographs, they were far from being in love with them. Carol had decided that it was time for updated portraits at her favorite place in Youngstown, Ohio … Mill Creek Park.

Carol is a Master Gardener volunteer for Fellows Riverside Gardens at the park. She and Jim love the park and typically spend a few hours there on Saturdays watching the bridal parties and taking in the wonderful views the Gardens have to offer. Since they spend so much time at the park, a Saturday session fit perfectly into their weekend routine.

Wouldn’t you know, we picked the busiest Saturday at the park for their photos. While planning the session, we *thought* that an a.m. shoot would work out well with minimal events going on. We started at 10 a.m. and not only was the Autumn Plant Sale in full swing, but there was also an a.m. wedding in the Kidston Pavilion. There were a total of 7 weddings scheduled for that Saturday afternoon! Luckly, Carol and Jim gave me a fantastic tour of the Gardens and pointed out some areas I was not familiar with. Some of these locations had much less traffic than the well known spots. I also learned a lot about the different trees and plants. For example, there is one tree near the gazebo that in the Fall it’s leaves smell like cotton candy! And when there was a slight breeze, you can smell the cotton candy tree when nearby.

I had beautiful weather, a stunning location and a great couple — a photographer could not ask for much more during a photo session! Here are some of my favorite images from their portrait session.