I love when folks reach out to me, we connect, and they take my advice of “do whatever the hell you want to do” to heart. This is exactly how this Fairway Creamery Engagement session was born.

Jamel found me on twitter, which is pretty often these days. He had expressed frustration in trying to find Kansas City Wedding Photographers that were photographing people who looked like he and his fiancé. He scrolled through places like the Knot and stated the photographers were lacking diversity. No queer couples, no fat folks, nothing. Some friends of mine on Twitter asked him if he’d seen my work and we connected immediately.

Jamel and Jenn get married this July at The Uptown! I’m no stranger to the Uptown, but I’ll get to finally check out some of their other spaces! They’ll be getting married in the Broadway Room.

For their engagement session, this lil blended family went to Fairway Creamery. We met for donuts and ice cream with Jenn’s son, Lewis, and everyone knows I love a good session with a kiddo. So, I was on cloud nine. Lewis is a complete sweetheart who wants you to know he only likes Vanilla ice cream. But also clearly really loves Jamel and Jenn.

Once we finished up there, Lewis headed off so we could go take gross kissing pictures. We’d planned to head to Seven Swans but they hadn’t yet opened back up. Instead, we putzed around Westside and found some of the most beautiful trees.

Then, we found a Black Lives Matter sign we just had to get a photo with. I did a little shoulder shimmy and said “looks like were getting political” and Jamel simply said “Good.“

Have I mentioned I have the best clients?