MICHELE & BOBBY

From the second I saw Michele and Bobby coming down the boardwalk for our session, I knew it was going to be a good one. They just had that look about them – the biggest smiles on their faces, making eye contact, engaging in conversation – despite this being the first official time we were meeting, and they were a gorgeous couple. Needless to say I was very excited to photograph them! (And I was very happy that what had been a 100+ degree “real-feel” day with 100% humidity had subsided to the 80s with a light breeze keeping us all comfortable.)

Sea Girt has so much significance to Michele and Bobby, so it was quite fitting that we ended up shooting there. These two grew up with beach summers, got engaged by the water and will get married later this year right up the road in Spring Lake! As we walked the boardwalk they kept pointing out special places where various milestones in the relationship occurred and it was THE best. I felt like I was getting a behind the scenes look at the love story in the making!

Once the sun settled a little we headed towards the water and captured some of my favorite shots. They told me the story of Bobby proposing to Michele down by the water and how the ring box almost popped out of his pocket into the ocean waves, forcing him to improv, popping the question a little sooner and abruptly than he preferred. I thought it was absolutely perfect. It reminded me how life tends to be messy and not in our control, yet in some unplanned way comes together exactly how (or better than) we could have hoped. The sooner we can accept that and embrace it, the richer our lives will be.

As we spent time together, you could tell that these two are the real deal. It was beautiful to watch them so candid in front of the camera and natural with each other even with me in their faces and people right near us on the beach! The were constantly smiling at each other, laughing and having fun with everything. I barely had to direct them because everything they did was so perfect. I think I found myself saying, “Oh! What you just did, I love that, let’s do it again!” I cannot wait for their September wedding at the Spring Lake Golf Club. Today was just a glimpse of the perfection their big day will be!