Batsto Village Engagement Session | Taylor and Mike
Ohhhh man what an absolute treat it was to photograph Taylor & Mike!! And you know what the best part is? I get to photograph their wedding next fall!!!!
Okay so Taylor and Mike booked me for their Delaware wedding this fall (yay!), and since their wedding package included a complimentary engagement session we got to planning straightaway! Taylor wanted the engagement photos to be done during the same season as her wedding photos so they would all have the same sort of vibe. To all my engaged couples out there, if your engagement timeline permits this, I highly recommend it!!
After going back and forth on a few locations, we finally settled on Batsto Village in South Jersey. I had never been there but I did lots of research before the session and it looked like a super cool place where my creative energy could thrive!! I was SO excited. I got to the session extra early so I could walk around and get a feel for the place before Taylor and Mike arrived. Once they got there, we said our hellos and started chatting as we walked into the park!
As we got to the first photo spot, Taylor pulled out a sign that she and Mike MADE FROM SCRATCH to include in their photos. Ummmm … holy cow this couple is talented!! Mike literally cut the wood that Taylor painted on!!! We got a few cute pictures with the sign at the beginning and I made a mental note to get creative with it later on as the light got softer. But in the meantime while the light was still harsh, I looked for shady spots with light pouring through the leaves to highlight Taylor’s BEAUTIFUL long hair … y’all, these pictures from the beginning with the light are some of my favorite from the whole session!!!!
We continued walking around the park, looking for cool spots to take photos (which there were PLENTY of). We came across this rustic house with a front porch — stairs! I can always use stairs hehe — and had fun with lots of different poses and angles! I mean I was basically telling Taylor and Mike to snuggle in different ways while I squealed about how cute they were and took lots & lots of pictures. It was so fun! We also played with this weird barn structure that had an opening going through it. I didn’t really understand the purpose of its shape but, hey, it made for some cool photos so I’m not complaining!!!
There was a beautiful pond/lake/body of water close by, but I wanted to wait for the light to get a little softer before taking pictures there. So we continued walking around the park until coming to another cool house structure. I had seen this one online — there was a picture of a couple inside a doorframe that I made a mental note of to use as inspiration! So naturally I told Taylor and Mike to get in the doorframe and, after a few poses that looked a lot better in my head, I directed their attention back to each other and they started being all cute and I got an AWESOME picture of them (better than the one I used for inspo)!!! I mean, they’re literally the cutest. I could tell how in love they were and which makes my job so easy!!!
It’s almost lake time! We started heading down to the water but I stopped them suddenly (which happens often during a photoshoot lol) because of this really cool trail lined with the most beautiful fall-colored trees!!!!!! I almost couldn’t talk straight because of how excited I was about this discovery!! I got some super cute close ups and wide shots to capture both the stunning color of the trees and the depth of the trail. Biiiiiig fan.
Okay, NOW it was lake time!! Lol. I had Taylor show off her ring and got a little creative with my composition to show off the water. Then I ran back to the bridge we walked over to get a different kind of wide shot of them next to a beautiful big tree. And then I freaked out over the stunning light (again) and had them get all cute and cuddly on a park bench. Once we were finished there, we started making our way to the other end of the park for part two of their engagement session.
I could tell the light was getting softer as we were walking. The sun is crazy like that — it looks stationary in the sky but if you’ve ever watch the sun set over the horizon you know just how fast that thing moves. As we got to the field where they were going to have their picnic, we saw the CUTEST pale blue barn with this awesome speckled golden light shining on it through the trees. I had SO much fun getting creative here with them and I got some more shots with the sign from earlier!!! (Remember that mental note I made for creative photos? It involved me laying in the dirt on my stomach and changing my camera settings for a unique look but hey we got there 🤣)
To end the session, Taylor and Mike packed a picnic!!!!! I am a MASSIVE fan of bringing props to your session (I mean look how adorable these pictures are with the sign and the picnic blanket!!!). They even brought champagne !!! which made for some romantic photos and added to the vibe of the picnic blanket. Taylor and Mike were even down to barrel roll on the blanket, and I am SO happy they did because not only did they get lots of belly laughs out of it but we got some dang cute photos as well! Taylor and Mike, thank you for being down to try my crazy ideas hahaha 😝
As we wrapped up the session, we talked a bit more in depth about their wedding. Mike has this insanely awesome idea to have a MAGICIAN during their cocktail hour!! And he wants a crazy amount of pyrotechnics 🤣 which, if allowed, would be DOPE. And instead of champagne glasses for the toast, Taylor is going to make custom TEQUILA GLASSES since she met Mike for the first time doing a tequila shot on St Paddy’s Day!! (Also how incredible is that meet up story?!)
Taylor and Mike, you two are so much fun and I cannot WAIT to photograph your wedding!!!!! Let’s make some more magic, yeah? Sweet. Much love 💛
