Their Session: Divine Park & Spring Lake Engagement
Angelica & Christian’s Divine Park & Spring Lake engagement session was one for the books! These two are so filled with joy and their playful energy was so much fun to capture. I had the best time photographing them! We had a beautiful spring day with a little bit of cherry blossoms still hanging around, and a cloudy sky over the ocean! I LOVE how these photos came out and I can’t wait to share all my favorites! But first…a little bit of their love story!
Their Love Story
When I asked Angelica & Christian to share with me one thing they love about each other, they gave such sweet answers. Angelica said, “His willingness to help others (co-workers, strangers, family members, etc!). There was one point when he first moved to NJ that every weekend, one of my siblings would call him to see if he could help out with something and he always would with no hesitation!” Christian said, “I love how kind and loving Angelica is.”
How They Met
Angelica & Christian have the most beautiful love story. Angelica tells it best. She told me, “We were both traveling alone! I took a year off after graduating from college to apply to Physical Therapy School (and because I needed a break from school!). Once I found out I was accepted, I knew that I wanted to travel before starting. I was really shy and not great at socializing (which is funny because I chose a profession that is all about building rapport with patients lol) and taking a step to travel by myself was SO scary but I knew I really wanted to do it! I actually travelled to New Zealand first by myself and started a contiki tour there. It was so incredible that once I came home, I knew I needed to keep going! I booked a last minute contiki trip to Europe after being home for a day or two and left a few days later.”
“Christian was switching jobs at the time and also wanted to travel. He said that he went to a travel agent who recommended a Contiki Tour because he fit the 18-35 yo age group. By the time I got to Europe, I was on what they call a ‘contiki high’ where you’re so happy and excited, and have a strong desire to continue traveling and experiencing as many adventures as possible. I had definitely broken out of my shell by the end of the NZ tour and was much more open minded in Europe.”
“The first night before the actual tour began, we had a meeting in the lounge/basement region of the hotel we were all staying at. I had walked in with the girl I was rooming with and remember seeing this effervescent guy who was so happy and equally as excited to start the tour! We started chatting right away because we were both from the US (a lot of other tour mates were from all around the world!). As we travelled through Europe, we got to hang out more and would walk around different countries together just exploring and chatting. Saying bye was so hard after the 20 something days we spent together. I knew I had a West Coast Trip I was planning once I returned (to meet up with other contiki friends) and told him I’d visit soon! I ended up going to visit him a few weeks later and that’s when he asked me to be his girlfriend!”
The Proposal
Christian proposed to Angelica while on a trip to Turks and Caicos in November 2022. Angelica gave me the inside scoop. She said, “Christian is not good at keeping secrets so I had a feeling something was going on. The night that we arrived, he was barely eating his dinner and seemed distracted. He was also already planting seeds of waking up early the next morning to see the sunrise. Waking up early is something I normally do but he usually sleeps into noon if he can haha. The following morning, I hear him wake up at 5:20AM to shower and to get ready. For the next few minutes, he’s trying to get me out of bed and I definitely knew something was going on. He kept mentioning waking up to take sunrise photos for instagram which is also very suspicious because he hardly ever uses instagram. I’m not going to lie, I loved seeing him sweat a little so I may have taken a few minutes longer to get out of bed before getting dressed LOL.”
“As we were walking, he was fidgeting a bit and we started noticing how the sunrise wasn’t visible (we later realized that our hotel faces the sunsets but not the sunrise!). As we got to the beach, it was mostly empty (it was about 5:45 AM at the time) except for one gentleman sitting on a beach chair looking at us with a studio light next to him. I wasn’t expecting a photographer to be there at all! At that point, I knew he was going to propose but I thought we were going to walk down the beach a little more. In front of the photographer was a patch of seaweed and I tried to pull him away from the seaweed so our photos wouldn’t have it in them but he was so nervous at the time, he plopped down immediately in the area in front of the photographer and asked!! Despite the seaweed and lack of a sunrise, it was still perfect! We ended up spending the next hour taking photos and it started raining which made it even more magical! I think there were a lot of nerves leading up to the proposal for both of us (even though we both knew what the answer would be) but we were able to really enjoy it afterwards! Traveling is something that we both love and having met abroad, being proposed to while traveling was absolutely amazing and magical!”
Angelica & Christian
Angelica and Christian, you two are such a joy! Thank you so much for such an incredible evening exploring Spring Lake. I had the best time laughing with you two, and enjoying your contagious smiles. I am so grateful for you both, and I can’t WAIT to celebrate your wedding day with you at Perona Farms! Until then, soak in every minute of this “fiancé season!” Sending the biggest hug! xoxo
