Silver Lake Sand Dunes Engagement

by Alexis Lunsford
January 18 2022
Engagement / The White Wren Collaborative /

A stunning Silver Lake sand dunes engagement that incorporated the most lovely details such as a romantic bouquet with beautiful blooms in colors of blush, light pinks & creamy whites. Another charming element was the desert picnic with yummy snacks & refreshments, truly a gorgeous design for this engagement session with images captured in dreamy golden toned light!

How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?

Anjali: We met in college while attending different universities. During our very first interaction I felt an immediate and unique connection. He was unlike anyone I had ever met before in the most intriguing and refreshing way. After our first interaction a beautiful friendship blossomed that later turned romantic. Looking back, that magnetic connection was my soul finding its other half.

Josh: Our first interaction was unlike anything I had ever experienced before then and still to this day. It was like finding someone who spoke your hearts language for the first time in life. I didn’t know I was searching, but I knew I had found something special. She was the total package. Not only was she “heart skips a beat” gorgeous but she had a kindness and empathy about her that, combined with her charm and charisma which, made for a magnetic attraction, both physical and soulful. Over the coming years our friendship grew and it became clear that we had met our hearts’ perfect match.

Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning. Anjali: I always knew that planning our wedding while simultaneously coordinating for my clients would make for a unique bridal experience but I never expected to also do so during a pandemic. Though this season of life has allowed us to enjoy our engagement for longer than we would have anticipated, it’s been a unique challenge to go through this process personally alongside the many wedding clients I’ve been helping to navigate these unprecedented times.

What part of your wedding day is most important to you? Josh: Being present in the moment to soak up all of the joy and love surrounding us that day. We’ve been together for a long time so our wedding day itself will have a slightly different meaning and weight for us than most couple’s experience. We’ve built an amazing life together over the past ten years. While every wedding day is filled with love, joy, hope and optimism, ours has a slightly different hue to it since we aren’t so much starting a new chapter in our lives as starting volume 2 of our series. Because of this, being mindful and present on our wedding day will allow us to look back and honor everything we have experienced together and how much we have grown, both independently and together in the same direction. We look forward to handwriting our vows and reciting them in front our friends and family. It’s also important that Anjali experiences the kind of day she creates for others. Wedding planning isn’t for the faint of heart and is definitely a labor of love. She’s constantly going above and beyond to ensure her couple’s love and personalities shine through on their day in grand and subtle ways. It’s a top priority to me that she experiences the same joy and wonder on our day that she has given to so many other couples.

What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another? Anjali: Josh has completely shifted my mindset to a frequency that I would say better matches my heart. In the most non judgmental of ways, he’s taught me to do a lot more questioning and to keep an open mind. Because of him, I’ve found a lot of comfort in the unknown and the reality that there is always more to learn.

Josh: Anjali excels at recognizing the moment and celebrating accordingly. She has an adventurous soul and it’s one of the greatest gifts she brought to my life. She loves to explore and to try things and is always finding spontaneous ways to experience this big beautiful word in all of its majesty. While I also have an adventurous spirit, it wasn’t until meeting Anjali that I truly tapped into that part of myself.

This ultra bridal-esque engagement shoot was nothing short of a dream and intentionally planned as so! Inspired by a phrase the groom to be uses to wish his future bride sweet dreams. Held at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, atop 1,875 acres of rolling sand hills situated along Lake Michigan’s sweeping shoreline, Anjali and Josh’s celebratory session is filled with soft colors & textures that perfectly compliment their gorgeous surroundings. Together, the couple designed a shoot that dripped romance and celebration including a golden hour picnic fit for sweethearts with fresh fruit, chantilly crème, rosé champagne and french pastries from their favorite pastry chef, Diane Moua of the Bellcour Bakery.

Anjali’s engagement ring is a bespoken piece in the iconic Chelsea setting by french designer and great great grandson of Louis Cartier, Jean Dousset. Known for his meticulous attention to detail and discerning taste, Chelsea boasts 122 diamonds including Jean Dousset’s signature hidden stone. -The Fourniers

What is your favorite thing about each other? Josh: Her heart has a capacity for love, unrivaled by anyone I’ve ever encountered. I’m constantly in awe of how compassionate she is. It’s woven into the fabric of her soul and is most evident in her thoughtfulness. She’s ALWAYS thinking of others, consistently putting their needs above her own. Her heart is pure gold.

Anjali: He’s a genuinely good human being with a big heart and a thoughtful soul. In a world where so many are quick to judge and make assumptions of people, Joshua looks deeper and listens intently, asking thoughtful questions and rarely assuming anything of anyone. These golden traits have made me better person. I have a profound sense of adoration and awed respect for him. He’s incredibly easy to love.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? Anjali: I have so much passion for the world of weddings. The fact that it’s our time to share with our loved ones is really special. I’ve cherished many moments.. looking at fabric for my Indian wedding dress with my mom, venue touring with my godparents and sharing all our ideas with my best friend but mostly I have enjoyed all of the little moments and genuine happiness that we’ve been blessed with. Weddings are a part of my everyday life but getting to see Josh’s excitement over details that are new things for him to think about is simply the icing on the cupcakes! I’m loving it all.

Josh: Getting to step into her professional world. While we’re always talking and sharing things about our respective work lives and business, it’s a gift to be able to get a more immersive look at her passion up close. When we sit down to discuss aspects of planning, I get to experience a small slice of what it’s like to be one of her clients. I’m sure I’ve gotten some groom privileges along the way but getting to see her creativity and expertise come alive as part of creating such a special day has truly been a gift most partners never get to experience.

“The incredibly talented Leidy Fournier worked her fine art magic, perfectly capturing our love at its essence. We’re still swooning! These photos are everything we dreamed of and more. One of our favorite moments while shooting with Leidy was a little video she filmed of us walking across the dunes, champagne in hand, against a backdrop of golden light and sweeping sand right at sunset! We had no idea she captured that moment but we will cherish that little intimate clip along with our beautiful photos for a lifetime.

Floral design by Windflower Co. couldn’t have been lovelier. Lindsey is a flower whisperer! She completely got my vision, incorporating unique floral varieties into the bouquet and nailing my color palette to perfection. As a bonus, I was able to take a peek at her incredibly magical home cutting garden, buzzing with little pollinators! After the shoot, we had a ways to travel back to Minneapolis. I did everything in my power to keep the flowers safe and fresh and couldn’t have rushed out faster to purchase things to preserve them! She certainly set a high bar for my wedding bouquet!” -Anjali

This was her dream setting. There wasn’t a question in my mind that this was her ring. Every time I see it on her hand it makes me smile. It’s just her. -Josh

What is the most honest thing you can say about love? Both of us: Love is so much greater than romance and grand gestures. While those are special parts of any love story, the most beautiful and honest parts of love are often the most unglamorous. The hard parts; about sustaining and growing love. To us, love is a choice. It’s pure vulnerability, honest communication and standing by someone and supporting them at their lowest lows. It’s in being authentically seen and understood, accepting that a relationship is made up of two imperfect humans. It’s sustained by commitment and the shared work of challenging each other to be better versions of ourselves.