Katie + Ian | A Romantic Pondside Engagement | Albuquerque Wedding Photographers

Katie, who is originally from here in New Mexico, and Ian, originally from Missouri, met in 2018, a year after he’d moved to Austin, TX and started working for her brother-in-law. They’d become friends, and sparks flew when Katie met him while she was out there for the Fourth of July (awful, cheesy pun intended hehe). After they’d been dating for a couple years, it had become a tradition to take Katie’s parents to see Ian’s family on Labor Day. With her sister and brother-in-law also in attendance this time around, they enjoyed the weekend before wrapping up everything with a barbecue… and a surprise proposal from Ian in front of everyone! They’re a fun, outdoorsy pair that enjoys traveling, watching movies, and spending quality time together.

We met up with these two cuties back in early November for their engagement session. Originally, we were supposed to capture their photos at Sandia Lakes… but we were surprised upon arrival to see the park was closed down. Fortunately, we stumbled across an equally— if not more than, if we do say so ourselves— stunning location: a plot of land with big plans from the owner of the local winery Vara. The owner happened to be there was awesome enough to let us traipse around the hidden gem with Katie and Ian, and we’ve never been happier that our original plan didn’t work out!

They were so incredibly cute their entire session, as they were teasing each other, having fun, and were simply super affectionate— which of course always makes our job unbelievably easy! The light was pure magic the whole time, and the beautiful ponds, with their wow-factor increased tenfold as the sun set on the mountains beyond them, were abundant throughout the property. We were able to snag amazing photos virtually everywhere we wandered!

Not only are we so very excited for what Vara has planned, but we also can’t wait for Katie and Ian’s wedding come June!

Katie’s Makeup: Betty Rose by Alanna

Katie’s Hair: Melissa Hair Artist