Salt Lake City & Park City, Utah Wedding Photographer-Melissa Kelsey » modern. elegant. real.

I posted Robyn and Jonathan’s beautiful St. Regis Resort wedding HERE, a while back. Here are their engagement photos. We started in downtown Salt Lake City and ended in the foothills, overlooking the city. It was a lovely evening!

I find that an engagement session is a great way to get to know my clients before the big wedding day. It helps couples feel comfortable in front of my camera before the serious pressure is on. It also helps me find the best way to photograph them, so I can make the best wedding day photos possible.

Dave and Erica are adventurous and active, to say the least. Dave grew up in Salt Lake City, exploring the trails of the Millcreek area, so it was fitting that we do Dave and Erica’s engagement photo session, there. This area also happens to be my backyard. We met at my house and walked through my neighborhood to a trail head nearby.

The sky was perfect that day—no Photoshop tricks were used in the making of these photos. We’re lucky, in Utah. We are spoiled by great sunsets on a regular basis, but this one was especially beautiful. There’s something about being outside, in the breeze and sun, that makes people feel alive and connected. It energizes and inspires my photography, too.

Erica and Dave are the kind of people who put passion and gusto into everything they do, and I think that shows in these photos. You can see it in their embrace, in their arms and hands, in the way they’re feeling their connection to each other and their surroundings. Hurray for life and love!

Some people, you just click with, you want to be friends with. That’s Tarra and RJ. Tarra was a guest at Lydia and Jesse’s wedding a few years ago and she called me up to photograph her wedding. I couldn’t be happier about that.

There’s a special cabin in Ogden Canyon, that’s been in RJ’s family for years. That’s where we did Tarra and RJ’s engagement photos. I got a glimpse into the past of RJ’s family. You could feel the history in that Arts & Crafts style bungalow. You could imagine the parties, with kids running around in the summertime.

I love finding locations for my clients, based on their style and desires—I consider it an important part of communicating what a couple is about. Using RJ’s family cabin, which is so personal to him and Tarra, couldn’t have been a better way to communicate their essence. It didn’t hurt that the place looked like it was straight out of a J.Crew ad.

Jacki is a tax lobbyist. Garrett flies F-16s for the U.S. Air Force. Quite the couple, eh? Jacki had the idea of doing engagement photos with Garrett’s jet. Yes, it even has his name on the side. Oh, and the best part it—he got to name his jet. What’s the name, you ask? The “Angry Jacki”, of course. Jacki is a smart, independent, vibrant woman (the best kind), who goes after what she wants. Hence, the name. In fact, she went after what she wanted when she saw Garrett…at a bar…in Korea. Garrett was stationed there and Jacki had moved to Korea, looking for an exciting adventure. She went right up to him and said, “I’ll be over there, when you’re ready to come talk”. I was listening during the toasts, guys! How could I forget such a great story?

So, with a little nod to the past, Jacki put on a red dress and heels and Garrett wore his flight suit. It had just rained, so the runway was wet and the sky was filled with perfect, gray clouds and the dramatic mountains in the background. After our jet session, we drove around Hill Air Force Base and found beautiful fields to run around in. The sun came out and began to go down, which made for the best photographer weather you can ask for—rich, blue skies, puffy clouds, and golden light. Just beautiful.

I got a special treat at the end of the jet portion of our session, so be sure to scroll to the end to see.

These last pictures are of me geeking out about being in the F-16 jet. Jacki took photos of me with my phone. Thanks, Jacki! That’s Garrett, telling me about the “Top Gun” button. There are actually buttons that say “dog fight”, that you push when you want to shoot at another plane at close range. Oh, and there’s really an “eject” button, just like the cartoons. Sweet.

Kortney and Dallin live in Utah, but were married in California. Before they went off and got hitched, they asked me to photograph their engagement portraits. This is one flirty, good looking couple, which made my job fun. Wait…it’s always fun, but this was extra fun.