Blog— 2020 —
Roger Williams Park Engagement Photos
Lauren & Katelyn
Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island
September 18th, 2020
The hardest part of my job this year, by far, has been handling brides and grooms who have had to cancel their wedding plans for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. No matter how brave a face these couples put on, you can always tell there's a sense of disappointment in their words when they've reached the decision to push their big date off.
I'm a pretty nice guy. Or, at least I like to think so and, because of that, I've tried my hardest to find ways to cushion that blow as much as possible. For some couples, it means photographing a smaller elopement on their original wedding date and a reception later on. For Lauren and Katelyn, it meant an impromptu engagement shoot on a beautiful September afternoon in Roger Williams Park.
While I know a shoot like this isn't a substitute for getting to have their original wedding date, there's something to be said about "taking back your day" as it were and I'm so glad Lauren and Katelyn took me up on my offer for this shoot and I loved working with them and getting to see them interacting as a couple.
And, if nothing else, the shoot left me even more excited to shoot their wedding in 2021. Looking at the photos, it's hard to blame me.
Lauren and Katelyn chose Roger Williams Park as the site of their photo shoot as the park is beautiful in the early fall and I knew from the moment I walked out of my car that it was a great choice.
Not only were the trees green and healthy but the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect as we started our session as the Japanese gardens, one of my favorite areas in the park.
By far my favorite part of working with these two brides-to-be was their dynamic. Katelyn is a bubbly personality who has no trouble coaxing a smile out of her partner and Lauren, while a little more reserved, really opened up as our session played out.
I found out later she was incredibly nervous about the photo shoot but, honestly, I would have never known as she did amazing regardless of what requests I came up with.
I love Roger Williams Park for a lot of reasons but, by far, my favorite is how the park looks when the sun cooperates and for Lauren and Katelyn's engagement shoot, we had just enough cloud cover to fully take advantage of all the main park locations.
The second stop on our trek through the park was the Iron Foot bridge, which can be a challenge to shoot on during sunny days. Needless to say, the overcast sky played a big role in setting the tone for this shoot. And what a tone it was.
It's rare for me to feel like I've "nailed" an engagement shoot before I check out the photos but I felt quite optimistic midway through Lauren and Katelyn's session and it's easy to see why. These two have such a natural chemistry and comfortability with each other than posing them was a breeze.
Even so, I would've been remiss if I didn't visit my personal favorite spot in the park to close out their engagement session as I knew the Temple to Music would look quite nice with the overcast sky and I was right.
I'd say the photos in this fourth and final location were my favorites of the entire day but it's so hard to choose.
As Lauren, Katelyn and I made our way back to our cars from the Temple to Music, I couldn't help but remark how much easier this shoot was than I was expecting. I don't get to work with nearly enough same sex couples and, sometimes, the posing can be a little trickier to work with if you haven't done it in a while but these two brides were so much fun to work with that everything just felt natural right from our test shots until the final frames.
Lauren and Katelyn have such a beautiful relationship and you can see it in the way they hold each other and the way they make each other laugh.
Even though their wedding won't happen until next September, I already know it will be one of my favorite days of all of 2021 and it's a wedding I am eagerly anticipating.
So thank you Lauren and Katelyn for "taking back your day" and refusing to let the coronavirus pandemic cast a negative cloud over your relationship for the rest of 2020. I look forward to seeing you in 2021 and know, when it comes to taking beautiful photos of you two great brides, the best is yet to come.
-Paul J. Spetrini
