At the beginning of each engagement session I start with a couple of suggestions for my couples to really get the most out of their engagement session. One of my suggestions is that I always encourage laughter! Laughing photos are always my favorite, they’re the images that stand out and laughter shows natural smiles. Even on this cold February day, Alyssa + James did a wonderful job bringing warmth and laughter to their Waveny House engagement session.

When we were trying to decide where to shoot their engagement session, Alyssa mentioned that they pictured a big brick or stone mansion as the background for their pictures. When I found Waveny House in New Canaan, CT I knew it would be perfect! Alyssa + James loved mansion and the red brick added in some color to an otherwise kind of bland time of year.

Alyssa + James are high school sweethearts! They met when James was a sophomore and Alyssa was a freshman and they were in the same class together. They became friends and then started dating. They continued dating through college even though they were long distance. James totally surprised Alyssa when he proposed on a trip to Lake George. (And I must say that James did a beautiful job picking out Alyssa’s ring.) They’re planning their wedding for this October at the Surf Club on the Sound in New Rochelle, NY. Their venue is right along the water so I’m looking forward to capturing their big day there with of course lots of laughter 🙂