The Hovey Family | Bickelhaupt Arboretum Family Session

I've gotten to photograph the Hovey family a few times now, and this session came with a pretty big milestone to celebrate: Brystol turned ONE!

I met Samantha, Charles, Brynlee, and Brystol at Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Clinton for their summer family session. Brynlee is three now, Brystol is officially one, and these two sisters are absolutely smitten with each other.

Which, as their photographer, made my job ridiculously easy.

There was so much natural interaction between them that I really didn't have to do much to create those sweet sister photos. They wanted to be together, and I basically just got to stand back and document it. I was melting over the cuteness behind my camera, and apparently I wasn't the only one.

A couple nearby had come to Bickelhaupt to see the Thomas Dambo troll, and ended up watching some of our session too. They commented on how adorable the girls were, with the husband joking that watching this family was just as entertaining. 😂 Of course, since we were already there, we had to grab a couple of photos with the troll too!

And because Brystol had just turned one, we finished with a little first-birthday fun. Instead of a traditional cake smash, Samantha made her a “cake” entirely out of watermelon. 🍉 It was such a cute idea for a summertime birthday and something a little different from the usual first-birthday setup.

Between celebrating Brystol turning one, watching these two sisters love on each other, and wandering around one of my favorite Clinton locations, there was plenty to photograph with this crew.

Thanks for another fun session, Hovey family! Samantha and Charles, you have two seriously adorable little girls, and I'm so glad I got to document this stage with them. 🤍