Molly & Luke | Maudslay State Park Engagement

Molly & Luke requested fall foliage for their engagement photos. Lucky for us, we hit the peak weekend at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, MA back in October! Of course, we didn’t realize we were going to be right in the middle of a Halloween event. But that’s the fun of photo sessions, they’re always full of surprises! We worked our way around the crowds to capture some great photos.

I love that this year’s wedding clients are opting for engagement sessions. Many of them have not been in front of a professional camera before as a couple. Taking advantage of an engagement session not only allows you to get to know your photographer a little more. It lets you get some experience being photographed prior to the wedding day. When that day comes, you’ll be familiar with the way your photographer will work with you, and your big day will go much more smoothly. Who doesn’t want that?

Check out some of my favorites of Molly & Luke! I am looking forward to their wedding at the beautiful (and recently renovated) Danversport this coming September!

Taylor & Ryan – Engaged | Tower Hill Botanic Garden Weddings

Working in a bridal shop does have its perks, such as meeting potential new clients! Taylor came in as a bridesmaid in a wedding party. My photography business came up in conversation, and she and Ryan ended up choosing me as their wedding photographer! We bounced back and forth on engagement photo ideas but they ultimately chose to do a winter session at their wedding venue, the beautiful Tower Hill Botanic Garden!

Those of you that know me, know that I really don’t like the cold and snow of winter. Normally I would not have been super happy about the snow that fell the night before their photo session. Luckily, the light, fluffy little bit of snow that came down was absolute perfection! I was totally ok with it! Tower Hill Botanic Garden has so many great spots inside and out, from gardens, to greenhouses. We were able to get some gorgeous snow photos, then go inside for some greenery and warmth! I could have stayed in the greenhouse all day with all of the gorgeous plants. It was like being back in Mexico!

I love how these photos turned out, and they will be a great contrast to their summer wedding photos coming this August. I can’t wait for all of the gardens full of gorgeous flowers!

Melissa & Jose – Boston and Target Engagement

Melissa loves shopping at Target so much that she wanted to shoot her engagement photos there! Of course I agreed once we obtained permission from the store. We started Melissa & Jose’s photos at Paul Revere Park in Boston. We got a lot of great city shots at sunset! Then it was off to Target. We had so much fun coming up with silly poses. I love celebrating the things my clients love, this session was memorable for sure!

Jenelle & Chris – Boston Public Garden Engagement Photos | Boston, MA

The Boston Public Garden is so beautiful in the summertime. I was excited when Jenelle & Chris chose it for their engagement photos. A summer day in the city is always a good time! The weather was perfect, and when your couple looks like they walked off the pages of a magazine, you know it’s going to be a good day! They were also naturals on camera, making my job even easier. I always love shooting engagement sessions. It gives the couple and I a chance to get to know each other. It also helps them to be more comfortable being on camera if they haven’t had a session before.

I want all of my couples to have this experience when possible so I have added a complimentary mini engagement session to the wedding photography package! The mini session can be upgraded to the for couples who want to take advantage of all the awesome extras included in the full portrait session.

Jenn & Rony – Mystic Aquarium Surprise Penguin Proposal

Surprise proposal photography is growing in popularity very quickly these days. Needless to say, my first one was pretty epic! Rony, a past co-worker and long time friend of mine was planning on proposing to his girlfriend Jenn. He had contacted me about it a few times, and we kept in touch as he started to plan. She loves penguins, so he knew that he wanted to incorporate them in some way. He found out that the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT does hands-on penguin encounters. It couldn’t be more perfect!

Once he had the ring, we had our planning meeting to set everything up. I would join their tour group and capture their big moment as it unfolded. Luckily, Jenn had never met or seen me before so it was easy to blend in. At least as well as one can blend in with a giant camera bag and purple hair. It would have made it a lot more difficult if she had! The bonus to capturing their proposal during the penguin encounter, was that I got to participate in that too. It was so much fun and educational. I love animals, so getting to meet and pet a penguin up close was a great addition to an already awesome day.

After the encounter ended, each person got to take a picture with our new friend, BlueBlue. Rony and Jenn were last, and the trainer told them I was there from the marketing department to take some photos. She asked them how long they’d been together, and gave them some facts about penguins pairing up. It was then that Rony asked Jenn to marry him, and of course she said yes!

Thank you to the Mystic Aquarium for being so accommodating and helping us plan this special moment!

Jen & Mark – Paines Creek Beach Engagement Session

Despite living in New England full time for the last 14 years, I haven’t spent much time on the Cape. Jen & Mark wanted to have their engagement session near their beach home in the area, so my husband tagged along as my assistant and we made a day of it! Even though it was October, Paines Creek Beach was absolutely beautiful! We lucked out with a perfectly overcast day, albeit a little windy. Jen & Mark told us about some of their favorite places in the area, and even recommended a great spot for us to grab a bite to eat after we finished our session. Their wedding was this past September in Newport, Rhode Island, so stay tuned for that upcoming blog post!

I always enjoy engagement sessions with my couples. It really gives us a chance to get to know each other a little bit better before the wedding day. It also helps a couple get more comfortable with posing and being in front of the lens, so when the big day comes they already have an idea of what to expect. It also gives me a chance to gauge their comfort level and adapt to their needs. After all, your photographer is the vendor you’re spending the most time with on your wedding day, and it is imperative that you feel comfortable with that person. I always tell potential clients to go with their gut, and honestly, if I’m not the fit for you both in shooting style and personality, then I may not be the right fit for you. Do yourself the favor of meeting your potential photographer picks in person, or chat on the phone or via video chat if an in-person meeting isn’t an option. You’ll be grateful in the long run for putting in the time and effort up front 🙂

Nicole & Tom – Maudslay Park Engagement Session

When Nicole and Tom told me they would be including their pup Sadie in their Maudslay Park engagement photos, I was thrilled! As a fur-mom to two dogs and 2 cats, I love it when clients include their pets in the engagement photos, and sometimes in the wedding. When including a furry friend, I always recommend having an extra person on hand to be the handler. That way, you don’t have to worry about your pet when their part is done. Sadie did wonderfully during her part of the shoot! She wanted to run and play at first, but who could blame her with big open fields and walking trails to explore. Working with pets can require a lot of patience, as well as keeping extra cookies on hand 🙂

Maudslay Park was gorgeous on this beautiful October day. Luckily we caught some foliage before it had all fallen! Catching the foliage is quite the game every year. Depending on how the summer goes, sometimes the leaves will hang on for a while, and other times they will turn and fall early. It’s one of the most popular times for engagement photos. If you want fall pictures, I highly recommend scheduling them as soon as the leaves start turning since you don’t know how long you’ll have before they’re gone!

Boston North End Engagement Photos – Katie & Michael

As soon as I met with Katie & Michael, I knew their engagement photos were going to be a good time. They are both so sweet with fun, outgoing personalities! They both live in the North End in Boston, so that is where they chose to have their engagement photos. Of course, with all of the snow and blizzards, we had to reschedule a couple of times, but in the end the timing worked out. Our session fell on the same day as the Patriot’s Superbowl Parade, and since everyone was busy at that, it meant no people walking around in the back of our pictures! I even had the help of our office assistant, Rosie for the day. We started at Christopher Columbus Park, walked through the North End, stopping at some of their favorite spots, including where Michael proposed at Battery Wharf, and finally made our way over to Paul Revere Park by the Zakim Bridge. It was also right before Valentine’s day, so we had some fun taking pictures with (and of course eating) some candy hearts! We lucked out with fairly nice weather as far as January goes, too! I can’t wait for their October 2015 Wedding at Brookstone Park in Derry, New Hampshire!

Russell Orchards & Crane Beach Engagement – Veronica & Ryan

Fall is known as a time of great foliage and apple picking here in New England. What better place to do fall engagement photos than an apple orchard which has both? I’ve been to a few orchards around here but I’d never been to Russell Orchards in Ipswich. As soon as I arrived, I noticed all of the bright foliage right in the front of the property, which was perfect for fall pictures. Since I was there early, I walked around a little to scope out some photo spots while I waited for my clients to arrive. There were geese and ducks wandering around, and all kinds of other animals in fenced in areas on the road leading up to the orchard. Unfortunately, the you-pick part of the orchard was already closed, but we still managed to get back into the trees for some awesome pictures. Of course we asked permission to do so. It’s always a good idea to ask permission when it comes to photography locations!

As soon as Veronica & Ryan arrived, we got to shooting since we didn’t want to lose the sunlight. She loved the bright foliage too, so that’s where we started. Sometimes it can be difficult to come up with lots of varied poses so each couple’s session is a little different, but these two made it so easy for me! They would pose the way I was thinking before I even said it. Veronica even joked that they practiced beforehand, not that I would complain if they really had! I always have a few go-to poses for each session, but I try to mix it up a bit so each couple’s personality shines through. It really makes a big difference in the feel of the pictures.

The sun was beginning to set, so we wrapped up our session at the orchard. They had one other location where they wanted to do a few more photos, but not before Ryan bought us all some cider donuts. Another couple on my favorites list that gave me a tasty treat! 🙂

We finished their session at the beautiful Crane Beach, which is just down the road from the orchard. I know I’ve been to Crane beach at some point in my life but not for a while. Since I live so close to the beaches here in Beverly, we don’t really go anywhere else. It’s very beautiful! We were losing light fast, and they close the beach gates at sunset, so we took as many photos as we could with the use of my flashes and called it a wrap! Not a bad way to end my last engagement session of the year! I can’t wait for their wedding at the York Harbor Inn in York, Maine this April. It will be my first full wedding of the year!

Salem Willows Engagement – Salem, MA – Madison & Zack

Salem Willows is a well known amusement park on the North Shore. It’s not very big, a couple of arcades, a carousel, and some smaller rides, along with lots of junk food! I remember going there when I was younger to ride the carousel and play in the arcade. Who knew it could also be a beautiful spot for engagement photos? I was excited when Madison & Zack chose it for their engagement session location. With all of the park space across from the arcade area, a giant wooden pier, and even beach area, it gives you lots of options for natural backdrops. We even were able to take a couple shots in the arcade! I wanted to do some photos with the carousel ( I LOVE carousels!), but since it was October, it was already closed down for the season. Hopefully I’ll be able to shoot there again when it’s open. But we lucked out and had some great warmer weather, which is good since it was early October and Madison was wearing an adorable white lace dress. I’m glad she wasn’t freezing cold!

Madison & Zack actually met at Salem Willows with the help of Zack’s family dog, Moose, a black and white Portuguese Water Dog. Zack’s father Jim is a friend of my family, so I’ve known him and Moose for a long time. I was thrilled to hear that Moose was quite the matchmaker! The day they met, Zack saw Madison feeding the pigeons, and sent Moose to chase them away. From there he struck up a conversation with her, and the rest is history! Jim heard we were doing the photo session, so he was at the park when I got there. He had Moose with him, so of course we had to include him in some of the photos. We wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for him! He was so well behaved during the whole shoot, following all of us off leash, and posing well for pictures. Having some of the Willow’s famous popcorn to bribe him with didn’t hurt though… I also enjoyed having Jim as a temporary assistant since he offered to tote my rolling back around for me!

This session was so much fun, and I love how the photos came out with all of our options for great photo spots all in one place. Zack also kept us all laughing the entire time, he’s quite the ham! He and Madison are such an adorable couple and their personalities are a great match. I can’t wait for their wedding next June at The Margate Resort on Lake Winnipesaukee up in New Hampshire. It’s going to be so much fun!