Colorful Cape May engagement at Congress Hall…

Joe and Kate shared, “We first came across your photos of a wedding at the Omni in Bedford Springs, and we loved how elegant and professional the photos were. We are holding our wedding at the same venue, and felt that your work had the classic, natural feel that we wanted.”
During our initial meeting, Joe also mentioned, “I really like the unique angles and perspectives and the clean, crisp look of your photos.”  He added, “We both appreciate how your photos seem natural, just catching people at the perfect moment.”
I opened with a crisp, clean vibrant photos of people in the moment, Kate and Joe walking along the water at sunset.  I also try to give my couples a good, eclectic mix of images, here is a more traditional portrait of Kate and Joe– it also has an authentic, natural feel…

Kate shared about their decision to have engagement photos in Cape May, “Joe has been going to Cape May every summer since he was born. It started as a family tradition since his grandmother owned a place there which has since been passed down through the family. A few months into dating, I went with Joe to meet his grandmother right before she passed away…”
She continued, “Joe’s grandmother said, ‘I know you’ll make it to Cape May.’ I certainly did make it to Cape May. Joe and I have since made our own memories there. Having our engagement session in Cape May was a way to honor her and the special place Cape May holds in our hearts.”

We met at Congress Hall, an iconic Cape May Hotel in the historic district.   I love to play with color and couldn’t resist capturing the vibrant color combo of yellow and blue along with Kate and Joe’s silhouette…

Joe shared, “I pretty much knew that Kate was the one before I even met her. One night, I was going through profiles on Match.com, sending out templated messages to anyone who seemed like they might be interesting, when I came across a photo of her on the tube in London. I can still picture everything about that moment in my head, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘She’s the one.’ And I had never met her. I hadn’t even read her profile yet!”

Kate shared, “On our second date, Joe told me he had a book where he kept a ranking of the best crab cakes he had ever eaten. I thought it was crazy, goofy and something I would totally do.  That night he also told me wanted to travel the world. I remember thinking I want to travel the world with him. Since that time we’ve been to nine countries and 21 states together.  I feel like he is my partner in life and together we can accomplish anything.”

Kate, Joe and I shared lunch together at The Mad Batter prior to beginning the engagement photo session.
Joe remarked, “As a side note, the crab cake at the Mad Batter is #2 on Kate’s list, haha!”

Kate shared, “I wanted to play on the vintage, nautical and classic feel of Cape May, so I chose the most nautical and sailor-esque dress I could find. The dress is from a British brand called Hobbs. My earrings were actually a Christmas gift from Joe. The Duchess of Cambridge wore the same pair in her engagement photos. I lived in London for a while, so I couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to try to incorporate some British-ness.”

I like to play with different photography techniques, and used a little bit of tilt-shift here, the concept was to capture much of the building and almost make them appear miniature in an American Gothic sort of way…
Congress Hall is stunning, and I felt like we really only touched the tip of the iceberg there in terms of photography.  I was totally captivated by this emerald green wall…

I also loved all of the historic decor choices like this glossy black door.  If you take a closer look, you’ll see that I caught a reflection of Kate in the door here…

More of that emerald green, this time I incorporated some foliage into the frame as well!  I love the feel of it!  To me it gives nod to the world travels that they have had and will have together…

I am a huge fan of shadows and contrast and like pulling in the environment and architecture whenever possible.
Here Kate and Joe stroll around downtown– I like the lines created by the bikes and bike racks as well as the surrounding architecture…

Playful banter, love this one. I also really played with the sunlight here, too…

Kate shared, “After Joe’s grandmother died, Joe’s mom had this bench commissioned in her memory.  When we go to Cape May we always make a point of stopping and having a coffee and a good chat on her bench. It’s a nice way to honor her memory and it is very sentimental.”

Another more traditional shot of the happy couple…

A little slow dance on the beach at sunset…

As soon as the sun went down, it became dark quickly, but I brought an extra flash along so we could stay a bit longer. I love the vibrant blue of the early evening sky:

Joe shared, “The Blue Pig Tavern, is the restaurant in Congress Hall, and one of our favorite places for breakfast in Cape May. Amazing cheddar scallion biscuits! That’s where we ended up after the photo shoot, to relax and celebrate my birthday which was that day.”
Happy birthday Joe!  It almost looks like you have a little fireworks show!  I love reflections and this one was pretty incredible:

Kate and Joe, thank you so much for inviting me to Cape May and sharing your love story with me!  I’m eagerly anticipating your upcoming wedding at the Omni Resort in Bedford Springs.  Please feel free to share and comment below or on social media.  I can’t wait to hear what you and your friends and family think of this post!