Their Session: South Mountain Reservation, West Orange, NJ

Julia and Jayjay’s winter South Mountain Reservation engagement session was truly such a sweet and romantic evening – I was literally saying “aww” a million times while editing this entire gallery! What a dream to have an adorable couple in a stunning location with a glowy sunset. A photographer’s dream! I loved seeing how these two lit up when they looked at one another – they are so cuddly and comfortable in each other’s arms.

I’m so thankful they were up for heading outside in January despite the cold weather! These two love hiking and being outside, so it only made sense to plan their session out in nature! Hemlock Falls at South Mountain Reservation is always one of my favorite spots for pictures. It’s typically pretty quiet no matter the season and the easy trail leads to a beautiful waterfall!

Julia and I went to high school together and she was a few grades above me, so getting to connect years later and hear how life has been since was incredible! They live down in North Carolina now, so they made the trip up to New Jersey for our shoot! Such troopers from making the long drive to braving such a chilly day! 🙂

Their Love Story

Julia and Onaje met a couple of years ago when he was finishing dental school and she was in her last year of clinicals! They moved from New Jersey to North Carolina when Onaje was stationed here. They have the sweetest 2-year-old dog who loves a great hike with them and cuddling up at home!

Being the outdoorsy lovers they are, Onaje proposed while they were hiking at Chimney Rock State Park! She said, “He ended up popping the question when we got to a more private area in front of the waterfall. This was totally us because we’ve always shared a love for hiking and are both a bit more private.” I love that he picked an engagement spot that felt so true to them!

Julia & JayJay,

Thank you so much for traveling all the way back to NJ for our session – it was such a joy getting to hang out in person and hear all about your big day coming up in December! It’s going to be such a beautiful winter celebration at Rock Island Lake Club, I can’t wait! Wishing you two all the happiness, love, hiking, and puppy snuggles to come! xo