I’m pretty excited to post this very special engagement session! Gina grew up in the house next door. I used to babysit for her and her siblings; and her father was my band and chorus instructor in school. The whole family just holds a very special place in my heart. So when Gina got engaged and asked me to photograph her wedding, I was beyond honored! I had never met her fiancé Carlos before, and they wanted to have their engagement session in NYC where Gina has lived for the past 15 years. So I figured it was the perfect excuse for a long weekend away with the best assistant in the world (my hubby) and for spending time hanging out with Gina and getting to know Carlos.

Gina and Carlos met at a bar when she stopped in on a friend’s birthday celebration. Carlos was working there that night, and instead of going home at the end of this shift like he usually did, he searched the whole place until he found her. And I guess the rest is history! On Valentine’s Day of this year, Carlos decided he was going to propose. He had the ring on him but wasn’t quite sure how he was going to pop the question. They were going to see one of Gina’s favorite jazz vocalists – Dianne Reeves. After the performance when Gina stepped away for a minute, Carlos made a quick plan to have Dianne present the ring. So when they met Dianne and congratulated her on a great performance, Dianne is the one who ended up giving the congratulations!

Fast forward to their engagement session! At the beginning of our session I told Gina and Carlos that I wanted to capture who they are as a couple and how they naturally interact with one another. And they truly embraced that. It was such a testament to how much love they have, and it was so special to see them together. They danced and laughed; and we had a truly magical engagement session.

We started out at a park down by the river that they frequent and then passed by their apartment on our way to Central Park. When I tell you Central Park was amazing, I mean it was AMAZING! I had no idea how large and diverse it is with so many different areas…. lakes, hiking trails, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, a castle, an Italian Garden… I could go on and on. We took most of our pictures in the Conservatory Garden area near where Carlos grew up. It was so beautiful… a little Italian garden oasis in the middle of Manhattan!

After Central Park we took a walk through Carlos’s old neighborhood, stopped at E’s Bar (one of their favorite places) and then all went to dinner so we could talk more and celebrate their engagement. It was so much fun that I wish we could have stayed longer to do it all again! Oh – and after dinner we got the VIP tour of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum where Carlos works, and “met” some celebrities.

To say that I love this couple is a bit of an understatement, and I’m so excited for their wedding next spring at Tupper Manor! Here’s a look at some of our day together in NYC.