Spring Beach Maternity - Maternity Photos Lake Erie Cleveland

Vannessa and Steve wanted a dramatic sunset maternity session on the beach. Those are some of my favorite words, so I was super excited to bring their vision to life! Little did I know, Steve had a secret vision of his own: a beach proposal!

Vannessa and I had a ton of communication during the planning stages of her maternity session. We talked about location, lighting, poses, and – most importantly – wardrobe! Vannessa had some really specific ideas, and I was thrilled to make those happen. Choosing her location was the easy part. Choosing her gowns was a little more involved – she came to the studio and tried on probably 12 gowns from my collection! In the end, we chose such a great variety of looks to suit her gorgeous bump and our beautiful location.

When we got to Huntington Reservation, which is my go-to beach spot, we started in an open field to take advantage of the gorgeous bright sun and vibrant green trees. Vannessa took my breath away with her natural ability to pose and comfort in her skin. I won’t lie – I was a little jealous that I didn’t look like that while pregnant! We used two different gowns at this spot, then took a short walk to the beach. During the walk over, Steve pulled me aside and dropped a pretty big surprise on me – he planned to propose on the beach and wanted me to capture the moment! We quickly threw together a plan, and then moved on with the session like nothing was out of the ordinary!

The beach can be so tricky. The sun is so bright and the water acts like a giant mirror, making choosing our spots really crucial. For the proposal, I told Steve that we’d have to wait for exactly the right moment to make sure we had both enough light and not too much light. My hands were shaking with nerves when the time came, but it went off without a hitch! Steve was amazing, and Vannessa was completely shocked. It was so much fun being a tiny part of this, and I wish these two all the luck and love in the world!

Vannessa and Steve, I had a blast with you. Between the gorgeous maternity gallery and the surprise proposal, this was an evening I’ll always remember. I can’t wait to meet your little one, and I hope the wedding is amazing!