Engagement | Claire & Riley

Kyla Phillips • April 20, 2021

A greenhouse & coffee shop Rainy day engagement session in columbia, mo

GUYS! I am so stinkin excited to share this engagement session with you! Riley and Claire started dating in high school and just got engaged this year! I was ecstatic when Claire reached out to me about doing her wedding photography and we scheduled their engagement session right away. Claire and Riley actually came all the way to Columbia from Memphis on Friday to take their photos... so imagine our stress when we realized it was supposed to rain... THE. WHOLE. NIGHT.

But we persisted! I quickly gathered a list of cool and covered places we could take them to stay out of the rain. My best friend, Ashley, and I also spent the afternoon going around stores searching for the perfect clear umbrella (see it in action below)!

We decided to shoot the engagement session at Strawberry Hill Farm's greenhouses, Three Story Coffee Shop, and Alley A (all located in Columbia). When I tell you I found some of my FAVORITE new photo locations I mean it! Strawberry Hill gave us the dreamiest fairy-garden vibes (even when it was pouring right outside). Every room gave us something a little different and we practically had the place to ourselves because of the weather.

I mean look at those colors! Truly felt like a real-life fairytale. One of my favorite part of this session was just seeing how in love these two were. At one point, when Riley stepped out to the bathroom, I told Claire how sweet they were together. Claire lit up and said, "Yeah, I'm completely obsessed with him." (Okay, heart swoon right??) She also told me about one of her favorite things about their relationship. Because they did long distance through college, they were able to grow in their individual faiths. She said that before college she felt her faith was more dependent on Riley's, but having that distance really helped them find their own relationships with Christ and helped them become the best couple they could be.

Just completely in love with their love! After the greenhouse, we made our way over to Three Story Coffee and Alley A in downtown, Columbia. I had so much fun photographing them in a more intimate location and loved playing around with unique lighting and reflections. These two were oh so goofy and I felt like we spent the whole time just laughing, so needless to say I am counting down the days until their April wedding! View some of my favorite photos from their session below!