On a bright note, I love surprises and while trolling on Twitter this evening, I noticed that Merci New York (NYC’s premiere wedding blog) featured one of my favorite engagement sessions from late last year. You can read the whole story here, but basically, Kimberly and Andrew called me out of the blue and hired me to photograph them as they strutted their stuff through the streets of Jersey City. We had an absolute blast and made some amazing portraits. I can’t lie, I love it when all my photos get some featured love, but this session was particularly fun.

Click here to see the article on Merci New York

Click here to see my original blog about the shoot

The couple is absolutely adorable together. Dan is as tall as an NBA forward, which means that he towers over me, let alone Jen. While that could pose some challenges for a photographer, these two had no problem getting cuddly while cracking jokes about everything from pro-wrestling to small-town life in New Jersey.

After getting our fill of flowers and pedestrians, we found a fun graffiti wall against an abandoned warehouse next to the park. I swear there’s nothing I like more than contrasting a fancy, elegant engagement shoot with an urban environment. The photos capped off a fun afternoon and gave a little bit of a mix to a traditional portrait session.

“I can’t wait to tell all my friends that I had my engagement photos taken in Newark,” Dan told me with a smirk after we finished a lovely session. I’m not sure if he was being facetious (Newark’s murder rate had dropped a percentage point in the past few weeks), but there are few locations more stunning than a cherry blossom orchard in full bloom. Here are a few of my favorite photos from their session. If you ever get a chance to visit Jersey in April, try to swing by the park to see the festival for yourself. It’s so worth it.

Rather than try to figure out how to logistically traipse through the boroughs of Manhattan in a very short amount of time, the couple were willing to stay closer to their adopted home in Jersey City and let me capture them in a maze of graffiti murals and old factories. I was in heaven.

The only challenge was chasing the light. My photo geek friends know exactly what I mean. We scheduled the shoot late in the day to capture the lovely orange hues that only appear at dawn and dusk (and I am not a morning person). After running around trying to guestimate the moment the sun would peak out, we realized that we were going to have to work with the crazy clouds and try to make photos that aren’t exactly traditional engagement photos.

“Allison, could you grab my flash and hold it over your head?,” I asked my bewildered wife. “No, seriously,” I replied. “Hold it over your head, just to Lucy’s right.” After a few test shots, and some strange looks from the gorgeous couple, I nailed some my first strobist-style photos on an engagement shoot. The shot below and the few at the bottom of the post are the result, and I’m think they look pretty fabulous. Okay, maybe not as awesome as Wally and Lucy, but you know what I mean.

A big thanks to Wally, Lucy, Allison, and Wally’s mom for putting up with my inane prattling and banter. I can’t help it if I’m a touch insane when I take photographs. It’s worth it to see you guys laugh.

A sweet little moment in front of their stoop

Allison calls this Baroo Face. I think it’s from Cute Overload. I have no idea what she’s talking about.

Wally takes dipping to the extreme.

Only in Jersey City will you find a clean stuffed bunny just lying on the ground. Shea’s new best friend.

There’s that awesome glow…for a hot Jersey minute.

Wally thinks this looks it could be a poster from LOST. I’m thinking Carnivale.