Alison & Gary
Wickenden Street, Waterplace Park and Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island
September 2nd, 2017
Of all the ways I love to get the know a couple, I think my favorite one by far is spending an hour or two walking around with them and talking during an engagement session as it really gives you an opportunity to see a future bride and groom in a relaxed setting where they can let their guard down and, unlike a wedding day, there's little to no stress about being at a certain place at a certain time and no one else around trying to distract your couple.
These sessions tend to bring out a lot of the personality of a bride and groom and nowhere was that more evident than with Alison and Gary, whose engagement session I photographed back in September in downtown Providence. Even though I had just met Alison and Gary a few weeks before their session, spending two hours with them walking through the Providence area proved invaluable as I could see the way they interacted with each other and get to know how serious they DON'T take themselves.
To say it was fun is an understatement. This was a session that was a treat in every way possible.
Ali, Gary and I began our session as the Shop on Wickenden Street in Providence. The spot is one of the couple's favorite to go to for coffee in the hip and trendy area so we met here to begin our day and quickly moved over to Waterplace Park, site of one of my favorite weddings of 2017 thus far and an absolutely beautiful place to take in the sights and sounds of the Providence skyline.
I really enjoyed our time in this area as Ali and Gary felt in home in front of the lens as we cracked jokes and talked about their wedding next May. Some of my favorite photos, by far, were the genuine smiles Ali had on her face as her soon-to-be husband cracked her up. It made what could have otherwise been an awkward session a lot of fun and resulted in some pretty sweet candid shots.
Ali was also a big fan of some of the large bridges on the Providence river and, I've got to be honest, on this overcast day where everything looked great color wise, I had to agree. I especially love the photo of the two of them on the bridge going over Exchange Street. To me, this is peak downtown.
All told, Ali, Gary and I spent close to an hour and a half in downtown Providence and I could have easily walked around with them for twice that time. But we had one last location in mind and it's one of my favorites: Roger Williams Park.
By the time we got to Roger Williams Park, I knew we had more than enough photos from Alison and Gary's engagement session but, truth be told, these shots were some of my personal favorite as the park is one of my top choices for a shoot and the weather was tremendous.
And with Ali and Gary getting married at the Botanical Center next May, it was nice to be able to talk about what they hope to accomplish with their wedding day photos at the park where they'll soon get married.
All told, Ali, Gary and I spent nearly three hours together on their engagement session and got put together some photos I think are a beautiful representation of their relationship together.
This bride and groom aren't the mushy gushy type and it was nice to see them eventually get comfortable enough with me to naturally pose with little to no direction necessary. More importantly, this shoot gave me a great idea of what kind of bride and groom they'll be on their big day next spring and I can tell their wedding is going to be a lot of fun.
I may not have an unlimited time with them on their wedding day but, if this shoot was any indication, we'll more than make the most of our time together and create some truly beautiful photos. For that reason alone, I'm looking forward to their big day.
And I know they certainly are too. See you in 2018 guys!
-PJS
