Zach & Brianna’s Sunrise Engagement Session

Where do I begin with this awesome shoot! Brianna and Zach recently booked us to shoot their wedding in New Jersey in 2019. Typically for most of our couples, engagement sessions take place in the Lehigh Valley area. Well Brianna and Zach had a really special place that they wanted to capture these moments before their wedding next year… Ocean City, New Jersey. They’ve taken lots of trips there together for many years, so of course we said yes! About a week before the photo shoot in New Jersey, Brianna and I spoke on the phone about some outfit changes and different spots on the beach she’d like to shoot at. All sounded good until she said the word… “sunrise”. 

If you know me you know I am definitely not a morning person and usually can’t function before 8 AM. So yes, I was super excited for this photo shoot, but not so excited about waking up early. But what the heck… I thought if sunset is awesome, sunrise should be too. So Brianna and I kept chatting and I made one condition for the photo shoot, sort of motivation for me to get out of bed so early, they needed to be willing to get in the ocean. We agreed that at the end of the photo shoot they would get completely in the water and end with some seriously romantic, playful, wet, and sandy shots.

So Christian and I booked a hotel for like 100 bucks and made the trip the night before. 5 AM rolled around and we were ready to go, sort of. It was a gloomy morning so we weren’t really sure what to expect as far as a sunrise and what kind of light we get for these photos. As we dove closer and closer to the shore, there was this giant orange circle in the sky—the sun! It was incredible! This light was so gorgeous! And waking up so early was beyond worth it!

Check out some of our favorite moments and stay tune for their save the date video. They are such an awesome couple and we cannot wait to shoot their wedding next year. 

—Kristen

Photographed by Kristen Lopez
Filmed by Christian Lopez