The first warm days of spring send people rushing outdoors like early buds pushing through the ground after a long, chilled slumber. Our desire to shed our winter shells and flock to open sunny spaces, delighting in the floral scented air, can’t be denied.

Such was the case for Lauren & her roommates one warm, sunny April day in New York City. After a long, cold winter in the city, a break in the weather was the perfect excuse to put their enviable apartment deck to use and throw a party.

Andrew was invited by Lauren’s roommates Julie & Leckie, and despite lots of mutual friends, the two had never met. After introductions, the conversation came easily, although Lauren admits, she wasn’t initially interested in Andrew romantically. Andrew, however, had other ideas.

The party went on into the wee hours, but Lauren retired early, leaving Andrew with friends. Intrigued by the beautiful roommate he’d just met, Andrew asked Leckie if he could crash on the couch, hoping to see Lauren again in the morning and ask for her phone number.

They exchanged texts & calls for a few weeks, and in his persistence, Andrew convinced Lauren to go on a date with him. After a few more dates, Andrew’s charms warmed Lauren’s heart. “Something in me finally clicked,” she told us. “And, the rest is history.”

Four years of history has led our happy couple to an August wedding in Chatham, at the seaside Wequassett Resort, where surrounded by their friends and family, Lauren & Andrew will say, “I do!”

We got together with these two sweethearts last week, at Lauren’s grandparent’s Sandwich home, for some spring time snuggling, bello style. Although the weather wasn’t quite as warm or springy as it was that April day when they met, we had a lot of fun photographing Lauren & Andrew and documenting the very sweet & tender love they share for one another and for Cape Cod.

Here’s a look at our time together. Please welcome Lauren & Andrew to the Bello Family….

Lauren, like so many of our brides, claims she gets shy in front of the camera and doesn’t tend to look great in photos….oh, come on now ladies. Will you please stop with this foolishness? I mean really! Perhaps it’s just that until us, you hadn’t put yourself in front of the right photographers. (insert winky face and cheeky grin) Okay, that was totally big headed. In truth, we think Lauren, like so many of brides, is just plain silly. She’s stunning and couldn’t take a bad photo if she tried! See what I mean…

A warm embrace and joyful exchange….ain’t love grand?!

Cape Cod perfection…

I’m not sure if it’s a nervous thing or the fact that it was super windy, but Lauren would sometimes touch her hair during the session in this really sweet way…it just felt like her. And, the way she smiles when she’s with Andrew…they’re just too sweet together. Truly, like gummy bears dipped in sugar.

If you’ve ever wondered what a really happy guy who feels like the luckiest man in the world looks like, this is it…

Love. Love. Love.

It was reeeeeaaallly cold at the beach last weekend, very un-spring like actually. So, Andy kept asking Andrew to whisper something silly to Lauren as a distraction. Oh, how we love when silly leads to this….(who’s cold now? not me!)

Snuggling works to warm things up too….

Beautiful girl…oh how your smile does light up an entire beach!

Here in your arms, always by your side….there’s no place I’d rather be.

Happy. Joyful. Love….how you fill my world with light.

Love is….still smiling even when you’re freezing, because you are together.

Easy, breezy, beautiful…

Love me some white space….and blue skies.

Oh, and gentle kisses….yes, love those most of all.

Footprints of love…

Has it really been four years?

I carry your heart. I carry it in mine. Together everything is better….with you at my side.

Lauren & Andrew, although you may not have known you wanted to spend forever together when you first met, we knew from the moment we met you that your love was special and we wanted very much to get to document it in photographs and tell your beautiful love story. Thank you so much for choosing us as your photographers. We hope, this is just the start of a deep and lasting relationship. We can’t wait to meet your families (and see Aunt Janet again!! ) and friends and be there celebrating with all of you as this next chapter in your lives begins! Until then, we hope you enjoy these photos….and finally believe that you can…and DO…take awesome photos! We adore you and can’t wait to get your cute faces back in front of our cameras!

Big love & warm hugs, Chris & Andy xoxo