As summer officially says goodbye, I'm reflecting on one of my favorite collaborations from it.

As many of you know, I've been training with World Vision since March for the Chicago Marathon on October 8th. This journey has been expectedly challenging. But it's also been unexpectedly sweet for many reasons. One of them being that it's connected me with Chloé Sheldon. Our paths have criss-crossed over the last few years. But this past spring we discovered we both were planning on running with World Vision, and by summer, we were pacing in the same group. It's been in the miles along Chicago's lake path that our friendship has deepened.

She, too, is a photographer, and during one Saturday morning run as we were rounding the South Lagoon, we both shared about creating more of the work we love.

Here's what I'm learning: one - we needn't wait to be found to create what we have a vision for. And two - inviting people into our stories is how God intended this life. So without hesitation, I asked her if she wanted to collaborate. Sure, two photographers isn't exactly 'normal' for styled shoots. But why not?

Chloé was down. And from there we rallied our resources and set a date of August 7th. It's no surprise we were tracking with one another, both of us envisioning an elegant, urban bridal shoot.

Here's the rundown: we enlisted DeAnna Doersch as our model and my go-to hair stylist and dear friend Devin Sutter. Chloe's friend Danielle Tubbs made a mouth-watering vanilla cake with earl-grey buttercream frosting and strawberry filling (!!!). The two gowns were from Sarah Seven (where I purchased my own wedding gown), the jewelry was our own, I gathered the flowers from A New Leaf and created the bouquet, and Workshop Chicago served as our backdrop and venue.

Without further ado, here's to inviting people into collaboration without agenda, for the sake of making, for the sake of trusting and telling that God knows our hearts.