Blog— 2022 —
Goddard Park Engagement Photos
Emily & Jacob
Goddard Park, East Greenwich, Rhode Island
October 10th, 2022
One of the most rewarding parts of being an established wedding photographer is having years of work on your social media channels that friends and family members get to see on a regular basis. It's especially rewarding when those friends reach out for you to shoot their own wedding.
That's how Emily, Jacob and I ended up at a coffee shop earlier this summer to discuss their vision for their big day next fall. And it's how we found our way to Goddard Park back in October on an absolutely beautiful fall afternoon.
Having known the groom for years in my time in journalism, there was a comfortability that made working with Emily and Jacob so easy and it bodes so well for their fall 2023 wedding.
But, man, talk about setting a high bar for their photos. Because on this fall afternoon at Goddard Park? I don't think things could have been better if we tried.
Emily and Jacob chose to have their engagement photos taken at Goddard Park in East Greenwich because they love the look of fall in New England (And who doesn't?) and they sure picked a great time to do so as the leaves had just started turning and the park was beautiful and full of vibrant color.
I'll admit: I wasn't sure how easy working with these two would be as I sometimes find photographing folks I know to be a bit more challenging in terms of bringing out their real-life relationship for the camera but Emily and Jacob were on from the moment we started.
I love how at ease these two were with each other and we never took things too seriously.
Our session started at the Goddard Park carousel and we made our way to the park's iconic bridge and both were great in terms of setting a fun tone and capturing lots of nice interactions between these future newlyweds.
I'm a big fan of traveling around an area prior to an engagement session to see how everything looks and visualize where I may take a couple but I almost never have to do it with Goddard Park because the entire area is so pretty.
That's one of the ways the three of us ended up near a random tree midway through the park and, even then, it was the perfect backdrop for a pose I'd had in mind to show off Emily's beautiful engagement ring.
What I love about Goddard Park is the variety in locations you can find if you're willing to drive a bit. That's why when I saw the second outfit Emily and Jacob chose — which was darker and more "late fall-like" than the clothes they arrived in — I knew we needed to head over to the Equestrian area of the property to really make the most of their new looks.
Within moments, I knew we made the right choice.
With a little bit of time left before the sun set on our day together, I knew Emily, Jacob and I had just enough light left for one final location in the park. I decided on the dock area of Goddard Park which is always a bit risky as the sun is typically pretty harsh there.
Within moments of seeing the way it looked on this evening, though, I knew we'd made the right call as not only was the water beautiful and well-lit but the tall grass looked really kept and made for a great background for some of my favorite photos of Emily and Jacob's session together.
As Emily, Jacob and I headed back to our cars, I couldn't help but remark how much easier and smoother their engagement photo session went than I expected it to be and they agreed. This couple is so cute together and having them hold each other and pose together really brought out a side of the groom that I hadn't seen before.
I thought it was adorable and sweet and, honestly, that's one of the reasons I love doing what I do. Because it is SO MUCH fun to see the hidden elements of a relationship brought out in the way only an engagement session or wedding can do.
So thank you Emily and Jacob for a lovely engagement session together and I can't wait to see how we top it next fall on a wedding day I have no doubt will be every bit as beautiful and even more fun than one of my favorite engagement sessions this year. See you in 2023!