I’ve known Sandy since my freshman year of college, and we bonded over our love of food. At first it was going to In-n-Out, then it was studying at burger joints because the library does not allow food- which is really not conducive for studying but at least we weren’t hungry, then we moved out of the dorms and lived in the same apartment complex. Then more burgers and also Sandy’s really yummy Chinese cooking. Okay I am making myself hungry now so I’ll stop! Fast forward years later and we both ended up 3000 miles away from California and living in Boston.

Sandy really wanted me to photograph her engagement session, so we planned for an engagement shoot about a week before I was scheduled to leave Boston. The only problem: Sandy and Scott were not engaged yet when she asked me! But they have such an amazing relationship that I was sure that Scott was going to “put a ring on it” soon. You just know when people are meant to be together! (I’ve had other couples who’ve booked me before they were engaged or have booked surprise engagement shoots, so for me it’s not uncommon. It’s funny because I think people outside the wedding world thinks it’s weird or they are old-fashioned in thinking they are jinxing themselves..like counting chickens before they are hatched. But I feel like if people are contacting me, then they’re pretty set on getting engaged.)

After trading lots of emails back and forth and discussing the merits of several locations, we decided to do something different and drive out to Rockport, a beautiful beach town. Sandy is from Orange County, so she is a beach girl at heart, though this ocean is much colder than the one she is used to! It is a really charming New England historic town, and had some great clam chowder and fried clams after our shoot! Thought we probably picked the windiest day of the year to shoot, and not surprisingly, it was even windier by the beach. But we didn’t let it bother us, and I was really happy that we didn’t change our minds.

Sandy wanted to visit one of the quarries first, so we first had to hike a short trail.

This is a huge granite quarry from the 1800s that is now empty and full of water. It is really pretty and not like other quarries I have seen. I call this my paparazzi shot because I am hiding in the bushes!

Then we wandered over to the beach and had some fun!

The wind was so powerful that it dictated which direction Sandy faced and had to keep repositioning, but it paid off because I love how the wind is flying through their hair! And the gorgeous ocean behind them!

More amazing yummy light!

Love this shot of Sandy, her man Scott, and her ring.

One aspect that I really enjoy about photography is that it takes me to new places. Like this famous red shack, which even has a name: Motif Number 1.

This photo is priceless, and it’s totally the right amounts of cute and sexy!