The Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary was the perfect place to go to amidst what photographers call “Stick Season”: the time between the snow and when the leaves finally grow in. This sanctuary is an incredible forested area, with green pine trees that coat the woodland floor with a rust color, and a crystal clear lake chock-full of wildlife. The sky, though grey that day, gave us the most amazing diffused light, making every corner of this place evenly lit. Spring may not have fully arrived yet, but it’s definitely alive out there!

Coming back for their third round with me in the past few years, Julie and Matt came out to adventure around this bird-watchers heaven. It means so much to me to have people who always come back. Even if the engagement and wedding are over, there’s no rules saying you can’t have a photoshoot together just for fun! Or even if you’re still just dating! I mean, I’ve even seen photoshoots with strangers having a couples sessions together. There are literally no rules. Just the way I like it.

Seeing Julie and Matt again brought up so many memories of one of my all time favorite weddings that I’ll never forget. It took place at Gwyn Careg Inn in Connecticut and was just every kind of magical. Check out their wedding here!

The two of them wore blue which perfectly balanced against the location and added such a beautiful and natural pop of color. Julie’s dress brought all the flowers on its own! I’m all about floral, long flowing dresses like this. If you wear one to a session, you will probably spend most of the time flipping it around just because it adds so much dynamic and fun energy to every photo. My favorite thing. We wandered around the sanctuary together, talking all about what married life was like, new breweries open in the area, and learning all about their experiences in traveling the world (namely Paris, which seems way cooler than I originally thought!).

I am so thankful to have clients to trust me. Sometimes even more than I trust myself. Before every engagement session I get to the location early to scope out the coolest spots. I came across a super narrow trail, kind of prickly, kind of ugly with the Northeast still being far away from spring colors. But I thought it might look sort of awesome to just embrace it. So I put a pin in the idea to bring it up to Julie and Matt. Fast forward an hour later and I totally forgot where the spot was. I was about to give up on finding it when Matt ventured off by himself to hunt it down and the man found it! Not only that, but they were so down to get in amongst the branches and pricklies.

I am so thankful for people like Julie and Matt who just embrace the fun of it all and treat each session like a date night! I hope to see them again soon!