Engagement sessions are both mine and Hunter’s favorite. We love hanging out with different couples and getting to know them before spending their whole wedding day with them! With Gina and Jared, it felt like we were hanging out with friends we had known for years. They were both so much fun that it felt like we were just hanging out in the park with friends.

We took the photos at Historic Yates Mill County Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The park wasn’t too big, but it had tons of great photo spots. We started on a long boardwalk bridge to get a few walking shots and some shots with the water in the background. Gina and Jared jumped into posing right away, even though they were concerned about being able to pose well since it was their first time getting professional pictures done! They handled everything like pros.

We then moved on to the water mill for the next set of photos. The water mill involved climbing onto some rocks, and even in a dress, Gina did this without a problem. We had to make a few adjustments to work with the sun and get the perfect angle, but Hunter NAILED it with these shots! He got the perfect halo glow around their heads, which is every photographer’s goal!

We decided we would return to the water mill again later when the sun was in a better position since it was still a little bit too bright in that area. Gina and Jared had an outfit change, so they went to do that while Hunter and I scouted out the next photo spot. Gina had a blanket scarf with her, so we got some cozy photos of her and Jared by the water. The dress Gina wore for her second outfit matches the color scheme that Gina is planning for the wedding. We are excited to see how cute these will look on a Save the Date!

Hunter and I have an arsenal of Reg and Kala poses we use, but one of our personal favorites is one we call “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” We think this pose always turns out so cute, so we knew we had to do it with Gina and Jared! We chose a dock for this photo, and Gina and Jared captured the vision perfectly. They looked so cute together and had a lot of fun with
this pose!

At the end of the session, the four of us stood by Gina and Jared’s car and talked about their wedding. We ended up standing there and talking for a good 30 minutes after the session ended. Being able to hang out with our couples like old friends is the ultimate goal, and it truly felt like that with Gina and Jared! These two are so much fun that I KNOW their wedding will be a blast! We cannot wait to see them again in October to watch them begin their new life as
husband and wife together!