It’s SO special getting to photograph people who are close to me! My boyfriend, Ryan’s best friend, Renzo and his fiancé Leslie were such a fun duo to photograph! We visited Liberty State Park, and it was all sorts of perfect from their adorable and endless laughs to the perfect sunset on the city skyline! It’s always such a blast getting to just hang out and have a super fun session with close friends, so I’m honored to have been the one to document these two and their sweet love story!
Leslie and Renzo met in middle school where they were in the same 8th grade honors class. Usually, teachers sat the students in alphabetical order but for math class, she decided to seat them all in reverse alphabetical order. This caused Leslie and Renzo to sit next to each other! They became friends, and she says, “for some reason, I used to spray girly body spray on Renzo before he went to wresting practice to tease him. After we graduated middle school, I went to private school and Renzo went to a different high school and we didn’t keep in touch. Fast forward to senior year of high school, I was on AIM (ha, throwback) and I kept clicking on the “invisible button” (clicking the button allowed you to appear offline but in reality you were online). I guess 16-year-old me didn’t know this so I kept clicking on it to see what it would do. Renzo had a T-mobile sidekick at the time so his phone kept buzzing since it appeared I was signing in and out of AIM. Renzo IMed me asking me what I was doing. We started talking again on AIM and picked up where we left off. We decided to meet up at the pizzeria by my house for our first unofficial date and the rest was history!” Oh the good old AIM days, I’m so glad it brought these two back together!!
Renzo and Leslie have always loved the NYC skyline from Jersey City. They frequently go to Liberty State Park to walk around and enjoy the view. And Leslie had always said that she wanted to eat at the Liberty House, so for their 10-year anniversary, Renzo surprised her by making reservations there! After dinner, they walked around since it was a beautiful summer night. Then… he got down and one knee and proposed! He had asked her dad for permission the day before, and her family was waiting for them at home to celebrate!! SO special, and I’m so glad we got to revisit this location for their session!
Leslie and Renzo, thank you both for being SO much fun and for allowing me to capture all of these precious moments! Congratulations, you two! So excited to celebrate with you next year!!! 🙂 Xoxo
