Their Session: Colonial Park, Somerset, NJ

If I could photograph Jackie and John over and over again, I totally would! I honestly couldn’t physically say ‘no’ to photographing these two any chance I could get! Jackie was one of my amazing mentees who I taught photography and business to! She has since become an assistant for some of my weddings, and one of my closest friends!! <3 I could not say enough about how amazing this lady is, and I am eternally grateful that she popped into my inbox asking to learn about photography and the biz from me! It has sparked into a friendship that I value SO much! Go check out her incredible work over here!

When Jackie asked me to photograph her and her husband, John, who she calls “The Brit,” I was seriously ready to clear my whole calendar to make it happen!! Jackie and John were home for the holidays, so we squeezed in a sunset session at this perfect field hidden in Colonial Park! Jackie really wanted a sunset for their session, and the forecast looked cloudy, so we quickly switched days to get my girl her sunset! And booooooy did we!!!

There’s no doubt that the combination of the outfits and their emotion to their willingness to go with all my crazy ideas and hanging with friends makes these truly some of my FAVORITE photos I’ve ever taken! From Jackie and The Brit being so joyful and radiant with such genuine emotion to those golden sun flares, a session like this will always steal my heart!

Their Love Story

These two met in college about 8 years ago now! He was the goalie on the soccer team. Jackie noticed him because he was 6’6″ and had a British accent! Needless to say, she had a huuuge crush on him and totally stalked him until they finally met! She jokes that she forced him to fall in love with her! I’m sure he isn’t too mad about that one! 😉

The Brit seriously nailed this proposal, you have to hear about it!! Jackie told me, “We planned a last-minute trip to the Dominican Republic where we spent our first full day at the pool and he kept disappearing. I thought nothing of it at the time. We went back to the room and started getting ready to go watch the sunset, my favorite thing to do on vacations. He started rushing me and acting funny, so I hurried up and got ready. We walked hand in hand down the beach and he dropped to his knee (so we were now eye level) and proposed! Neither one of us remember what was said and there were definitely some tears, but needless to say, it was the best day of my life!” How freaking cute are they?! Also, totally cracked up when she said he was eye level down on one knee!

Ya wanna know more about these cuties?! Let me tell you! They obsess over Outback Steakhouse, which was where they went on their first date! It has become their go-to date spot together! They also have had two weddings now and both were absolutely perfect. The Brit’s family is all in England, so they planned a second wedding there this past summer to celebrate with his extended family, as well! Jackie says, “My favorite part, however, was walking down the aisle and seeing him tear up – I was not expecting that, but was pleasantly surprised!” Ahhhh, it’s always the best surprise when you see that smile and tear at the end of the aisle! 🙂 One of my favorite moments to capture on a wedding day!

I asked Jackie what her fave part of being married is, and she said, “Him not having to leave the country because now he has a green card!! Haha!” Seriously, so freaking true! She loves that even though he is big and manly, he is still super cuddly and sweet! The Brit’s fave thing about his girl is that she is funny, to which she replied, “he is not wrong!” 😂

Jackie and John,

I’m so beyond grateful that you two were up for LITERALLY anything! Knowing you’ve modeled for a bunch of sessions together at this point, I am freaking stoked and honored that I finally got you two in front of MY camera! Seriously, we created something so magical and I have all the heart eyes, forever and everrr. Can I photograph you two every week?! 🙂 Love you so much, ya crazy kids!!! See ya in Bmore! xoxo