I can’t tell you how much I love these images. Okay okay.. I’ll try. I love these images a lot. A lot a lot. A LOT A LOT! (Yeah… I’m quite the wordsmith these days, eh? a lot a lot!)
I don’t have a lot of friends… never really have. I’ve moved so much in my life… SO much! When you’re the new kid people don’t like you. So… I’d cling on to one friend. I can tell you who it was in each stage of my life. Elementary school: Mindy. Middle and high school: Corrie. College: Mike. Now that I’m all grown up… I’m learning to have more than one friend. However, I still keep my circle very tight. It’s my nature 
(mom & aunt karen… did you laugh out loud at that??).
You see, because of all of the aforementioned moving… I think I became a pretty good judge of character. When I meet someone that I know I’m going to adore (which is rare)… I hold on… and I hold on very tightly. When I met Gail two years ago… I held on.
They’re soon moving on to the next stage of life. You know… the “thinking about makin’ babies” stage.
Gail and Nick just got back from Europe 
Why did they go to Europe? Because 1. Gail is obsessed with travel and 2. she didn’t want to be one of those women who, after they have children… wished they would have done more. That doesn’t just pertain to Europe. If Gail wants to do something… she does it… and she does it with her whole heart. So many of us are big talkers… not Gail… she’s a doer. Man oh man… I envy her.
All that being said… Gail wanted to commemorate who they are at this stage in their life. Here’s an excerpt from an email while we were brainstorming ideas:
“What I’m most looking forward to is just having photos of the two of us cuddling up/snuggling, loving on each other at this time in our lives. I mean, it’s probably the last time we’ll have photos of just the two of us. I realize how few photos we have together so I’m just looking forward to having a visual of our love. When I think of that, I think of the fields we’d hike through when we first started dating, the place close to his parents we’d go to be together. Outside. His favorite place in the world.”
So, that’s exactly what we did. Blog readers, meet gail+nick and let me introduce you all to Nashville, Indiana. 
I processed these images 100% to match Gail and Nick. That probably doesn’t make sense to anyone but me. If you knew them and were at this session with me… you’d understand. 
See that quilt? Gail’s grandmother made it for her for their one-year anniversary. It’s been sitting in a box because she didn’t want to mess it up. So, she decided that that day was the perfect day to bust it out. Nick looked at her with an “are you out of your mind?!” look and said, “Are you sure you want to just lay it on the ground?! It’s going to be grass stained!”
“Yes! If it happens to gets a grass stain, it will remind me of this day. furthermore, grandma would much more appreciate it being in these photos rather than being in a box!”
I’m paraphrasing here… but, you get the idea. She hopes to make the quilt a part of all future photo sessions when they start a family… you know… a tradition. How perfect is that?
Oh, and… Nick was right… it did get a little grass stain… but, just a tiny one. Adds a wee bit of character, right? I hope so…
Sorry Grandma… 
I shot this session all by myself. I’m getting better at it but CERTAINLY not 100% (more on that later). 
When I shot this image… I just knew it was perfect. Gail, you are so beautiful. so SO beautiful. 
Maybe you knew this… maybe you didn’t… but I have some pretty serious ADHD. I’m kinda famous for just leaving equipment behind. That’s usually not a big deal because Mike is always RIGHT there behind me picking up all of the crap I’d leave behind. He’s SO unbelievably patient with me (if you’ve been photo’d by us… you know exactly what I’m talking about!). So, because of my bad habit of leaving $$$$ things behind… I gave Gail and Nick the responsibility of making sure I had all cameras and lenses accounted for at all times.
See this field? Well… this photo doesn’t do the size of it ANY justice. IT WAS HUGE! We walked alllllll over it. SOMEWHERE along the way, I sat my camera bag down with TWO $$$$ lenses. and… you guess it… I LEFT IT!!!! RIGHT after I took this photo I realize that it’s gone. Gail takes her eyes off of me for just a minute and look what I did?! OHHHH SHIZZZZZ!!!! I’M IN TROUBLE!!!!! So, we started canvasing the field. See the height of this grass? Yeah… needle in a haystack! WELLLLL….after abotu 20 minutes… Gail to the rescue… she FOUND it! If I hadn’t been such a sweaty mess… I’da left a big ol’ sloppy kiss on her cheek! RELIEF!
Yes yes yes… while I’m capable of shooting without Mike… it’s much easier for me when he’s there. Why do I sometimes shoot without him? Well… because if we ever decide to have children… we’ll have to adjust fire and I’d photo most sessions alone. So, whenever given the opportunity, I try it out. 
Though I know Gail pretty well… I embarrassingly hardly knew Nick. They live about an hour and a half north of us… so there’s just not too many opportunities to hang out. Here’s what I knew about Nick before the session: 1) Gail absolutely adores him. 2) he’s handsome. 3) He was a groomsmen in megan+josh’s wedding that we photographed in September 2006. 4) he’s a government reporter for the Muncie Star Press. 5) He’s a fraternal twin. 
After the session…. I knew exactly why Gail is so absolutely head over heels for Nick. They’re absolutely perfect for each other. 
Oh, and on our way home I got to meet Nick’s parents. I made quite the first impression (They raise cattle on their zillion acres of land… one thing led to another to another to another and badaboom badabing… I start talking about the craziness that is a certain part of a pig…. let’s just say it’s strangely large…. as in… SHOCKINGLY large. Did I REALLY just say that?! REEEEEALLY?!!? WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?! This is the craziness that comes out of my mouth when I’m sleep deprived. There is zero brain to mouth filter… and I mean ZERO! Anything that is said while lacking sleep can not be held against me, k? k. WHEW! By the way, Hi Mr and Mrs. Werner 
MAN OH MAN am I proud of this session! Seeing the images makes my heart swell… and a wee bit jealous. I want this of me and my Mikey. Someday… sommmmeday… 
Yes, I climbed a tree. Here’s another piece of Bobbi trivia: when I was a kid I was a pro tree climber. I could climb REALLY high… So high that a neighbor kid once climbed one with me and got stuck. A firetruck came to rescue him. I’m too big now to climb the kinds of trees I used to. Maybe someday I’ll ask Mikey to take a photo of me in a tree to show you my mad climbing skills 
This makes me laugh. They kept referring to it as “our first house” to someday show their kids. So, of course we had to get a photo in front of it… American Gothic style. (Just for the record… it’s an abandoned house… and in no way, their first home )
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nashville, ind.
gail+nick | married 10.07.06 | home • muncie, ind.
gail | media relations manager • photographer | hometown • harlan, ind.
nick | journalist | hometown • nashville, ind.
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Gail, thank you for always being such a good and loyal friend to me. I, along with the others in your world, are lucky to know you.
Nick, you’re the best. I love how much you love Gail. SO great spending the evening with you and meeting your parents. Now, you’re stuck with me… I’m holding on…
Much love to you friends. Much love.
~bobbi+mike 
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Nick had the longest arms of the three of us… so, by default… he took our photo.
PS. how is my hair SOAKING wet while Nick looks fresh faced and ready for dinner?! OH! That reminds me of a funny. About an hour into our session… Nick to Gail, “am I sweating on you as much as you’re sweating on me?!” HA!
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