I love a good rush. White water rafting in Colorado, jumping out of a perfectly good plane, zip lining through the mountains, hang-gliding over Wisconsin… I’ve done it all. But this shoot? I was terrified. Carrie + Ryan thought it would be a good idea to ice-skate for part of their winter engagement session. When Carrie brought up the idea to me, without hesitation I said, “YES! I love that idea.” I thought… “Oh it’s perfect… winter engagement session, ice-skating… it’s gonna be super cute.” Then I realized I hadn’t skated in over a decade. And I was going to be making my debut back on the ice with thousands of dollars of equipment strapped to me. Fear set in.

But thanks to ojo Creative, who was also there to shoot video of the session, and Carrie who admitted she was a little nervous as well (no thanks to Ryan though who has played hockey his entire life and looked like a swan just gliding across the ice!) – I laced up my skates and awkwardly “skated” (if you can call it that) around the rink a few times and took some fun photos of the happy couple. And I’m so glad I did because these two were just too cute on the ice. Special thanks to the staff for letting us cut the 1-hour wait line since we were shooting an engagement session!

After we finished up at the ice rink, we played around Millennium Park (where we got yelled at by security twice – oops!) before heading back to Carrie + Ryan’s apartment to warm up by the fireplace. The whole day felt like I was hanging out with good friends… ice skating, playing in the snow, drinking hot cocoa, eating cheese and crackers at their apartment, playing with their dog Coco… just a delightful winter day and I’m so glad Laura + Bill were kind enough to refer me to them! And thanks Carrie for posting this sweet comment, “Jill Tiongco, Ry and I felt like we have known you for years. You are truly talented, it’s clear you love what you do. Thank you for having fun with us today and for capturing those moments. xoxo.” Carrie + Ryan, I pretty much feel the same way. I’m in love with your engagement photos. And you guys. And I can’t wait for the wedding. You guys are the reasons I love what I do.