Allison & Len
Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island.
June 25th, 2017
There are a lot of reasons people choose to become wedding photographers. Maybe they have an eye for details. Maybe they see it as a steady career choice. Maybe they just enjoy the chaos of a hectic wedding day.
For me, it has always been about the story.
Call me a sucker but I can think of nothing I like more than taking photographs that tell a bride and groom's story in a personal way and, no matter whose day it is, if I can find the story behind the photos I capture, it is creatively inspiring in a way no other occupation ever could be.
Allison and Len are the type of couple, with the type of story, that inspires me to get out of bed everyday.
And that story was on full display during their June engagement session as Roger Williams Park.
I've known Allison and Len for years, with the bride being one of my closest friends for the better part of a decade.
In fact, I've watched their relationship grow since their first official date and, in that time, I've watched Allison transform from a college student with a clear focus on her future to a professional woman achieving all the goals she sets for herself.
And the transformation has been more than figurative as, over the past year, Allison has gone on a journey to change her life and, in the process, shed well over 100 pounds to become an entirely new person.
The transformation hasn't been easy but her and Len's engagement session at Roger Williams Park on a beautiful June afternoon was meant as a coming out party of sorts for the new her and what a shoot it was.
Starting at the park's Casino, where Allison and Len will be married in September, we had a blast talking about their wedding day and just hanging out like friends would ... all the while sprinkling in some romantic engagement photos to pass the time.
I loved watching Allison and Len interact during this session as it was clear in the beginning that neither were entirely comfortable being in front of the camera but, thanks to our familiarity with each other, both warmed up as the session went on.
I particularly loved the photos we were able to get at the Japanese Gardens, a spot that holds special meaning to Allison as her grandparents took their wedding photos in that very same spot 65 years ago.
What made this shoot so fun was how relaxed it felt once Allison and Len settled in and though neither of them are big on public displays of affection, it was clear they were both comfortable with each other and enjoying the moment ... even if we did have to occasionally hide a dead fish from the water or try to suppress our laughter at the two frogs having a loud romantic encounter yards from where we were shooting.
By the time the sun set at Roger Williams Park on this beautiful early summer afternoon, it was clear Allison and Len felt a lot more relaxed in front of the camera than they thought they would, and that should come in handy come September.
I know I say I look forward to every wedding whenever I photograph an engagement session but it's true and there are few weddings that loom brighter in my mind than that of Allison and Len.
Their upcoming marriage has been years in the making and as a person who has watched both of their journeys to this point, I know their wedding day is going to be a special one neither or the bride and groom will ever forget.
See you in the fall guys!
-PJS
