Blog— 2021 —
Goddard Park Engagement Photos
Jen & Domenic
Goddard Park, East Greenwich, Rhode Island
November 11th, 2021
There comes a point every fall where I book an engagement session at one of my favorite state parks and spend the week leading up to it trying to avoid looking at the changing leaves around me for fear that I'll jinx everything and they'll all fall down before my session starts.
While I'm aware that's a bit irrational, it's only because I love fall so much that I want all of my couples, regardless of when their shoot is, to benefit from the beauty of New England and for Jennifer and Domenic, whose engagement photos I took back in November at Goddard Park in East Greenwich, those prayers paid off.
In fact, while I won't go as far as to say Jen, Domenic and I had the last great day of the season, we got awfully close as the temperatures started falling — and bringing the leaves with them — not too long afterward.
But, hey, sometimes you've got to take a little bit of good luck and we sure had it on this brisk, but not too cold, November afternoon.
Jen and Domenic are one of the newest couples I've met ahead of the 2022 season and getting to work with them was an absolute delight because we didn't know too much about one another prior to their engagement session.
Having only met them a few weeks prior, I thought it was awesome to get to learn a little more about their lives and their backstory as a couple so, naturally, when Domenic mentioned to me that he proposed to Jen on the beach, Goddard Park seemed the logical place to have their engagement photos ... and the beach was where we began.
I always love sessions at this park but the first 10 minutes can be a tad awkward as I get to know a couple. Luckily, Jen and Domenic were much more comfortable in front of the camera than I expected and we got off to a fun start with little to no pressure and, more importantly, little to no wind by the water.
One of the reasons I love Goddard Park for fall photo sessions is the location has a ton of cool spots you wouldn't really notice if you weren't looking. One of my favorite, especially toward the end of the fall as the leaves begin to come down, are the steps near the carousel area and Jen and Domenic's photos there show why.
I loved these shots, probably the most of their entire shoot, for how casual and relaxed they felt and things only got better from there as we made our way up to the iconic bridge overlooking the beach area.
Jen and Domenic were super open and flexible to my posing ideas and I tried to keep it as simple as possible for them as I knew we'd have less time and light than usual given the sneeky quick sunsets of mid November.
One of the things I really loved about Jen and Domenic's engagement session was their change in outfits. Now, normally, I ask a couple to bring two to three outfits out of slight worry that they won't like what they've chosen for their photos. But, for Jen and Domenic, their second outfits felt more casual than their first and, I think, lead to even more authentic-feeling photos for this soon-to-be bride and groom.
It doesn't hurt, of course, that we also found some nice foliage in the horse trail portion of the park and went exploring for a while either.
Talk about the perfect backdrop for a late fall afternoon.
As the sun started to fade away and my time with Jen and Domenic came to an end, I noticed Domenic was shivering a little bit, most likely due to the casual drop in temperature from when we started the session.
I asked him if he'd mind tossing his red hoodie on as we drove to the final location in the park I wanted to take photos at but, once I saw the hoodie, I actually loved how it photographed and asked him to keep it on. After all, I'm a hoodie guy myself.
The result? Some of my favorite photos of the entire session and a perfect way to call it an afternoon.
All in all, I don't think I could have asked for a better bride and groom to put a bow on the busiest part of my year. Jennifer and Domenic were a blast to work with and a pleasure to get to know and I can't wait to see how that translates when they walk down the aisle next year.
Luckily, their wedding is in early September of 2022 so, fingers crossed, we won't have to worry about chilly temperatures or falling leaves that much but the nice thing I know now this is definitely a bride and groom willing to roll with the punches and take great photos no matter the weather.
So, thank you Domenic and Jen for a great session and I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. See you in the new year!
-Paul J. Spetrini
