Prospect Park Engagement Photos
Apollo Fields | Brooklyn Wedding Photographer | Prospect Park Engagement Photos | Best Wedding Photos | New York Wedding Photographer
Dan + Rachel
Engagement photos are like first looks—they are less about being overly romantic and more about having fun with your partner in front of the camera. A lot of the times, Capa and I will come along for the engagement shoot to lighten the mood while we all get to know each other. For Dan and Rachel, however, Capa and I explored a little bit of Park Slope, Brooklyn, while they brought Heather around Prospect Park to some of their favorite spots. That’s because I’ve known Dan since grade school and they didn’t necessarily need a heckler and a toddler to tag along.
Prospect Park Engagement Photographer
We began the shoot at Dan and Rachel’s apartment where we had a couple of cocktails on their cozy back patio. They wanted to get a couple of shots with their aptly named pup, Toast, and didn’t want to bring him for the full session. After we wrapped and took our last sips, Capa and I took to the pavement and they all hopped in a cab. There are few things I enjoy more than walking around a New York City neighborhood with no destination. I may or may’ve not intentionally stumbled upon a brewery a couple blocks away.
Grabbing Dinner (or drinks) With Your Photographers
Since my job as an assistant to the engagement shoot was not needed, my other job was to get Capa to sleep so that we could all enjoy a nice dinner together. We love to connect with our couples over a meal or round of drinks because we get to talk details of the wedding, setting expectations, and finding out what they are most looking forward to. This familiarity and connection really does wonders for removing some of the stress of the unknowns on your wedding day! Cheers to Capa for going down just in time for us to relax into a charming outdoor dinner with Dan and Rachel.
WINDHAM MANOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
We were stoked to hear that Dan and Rachel decided to get married at Windham Manor in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. We haven’t worked there before, but the tagline on their website “classic charm meets modern luxury” gives me assurance that our photography style will be a perfect fit. Heather and I love nature, lush greens and rolling hills, big spacious barns with high ceilings and authentic craftsmanship. The trick is finding a venue that has all of these while also maintaining access to lodging and modern luxuries. My guess is you’ll probably find Dan and I on a golf course nearby in the days leading up to their wedding!
City/Nature Lovers Like Us
If you live in a city and can’t decide where to do your engagement photos, why not get the best of both worlds and do them in a park in the city like Dan and Rachel? You pay homage to part of you that loves the city and you get to save the more outdoorsy photos for your wedding!
Prospect Park Engagement Photos
Apollo Fields | Prospect Park Engagement Photos | NYC Wedding Photographer | Brooklyn Wedding Photographer | Best Wedding Photos | Photographers Near Me | New York Wedding Photographer
Ashley and Andrew’s Engagement Photos
A steamy summer Saturday in Brooklyn has a particular vibe: fire hydrants spraying into the street, shirtless people riding Citi-bikes, local vendors selling sliced mangoes or papaya in ziploc bags, and an all-too-familiar New York City stench. Yet being outside is somehow preferable to staying within the comfort of an air conditioned living room. Whether it’s cozying up on a picnic blanket in the shade, catching a baseball game, or grabbing a margarita at a bar, the heat doesn’t scare New Yorkers into hermitude.
When we first met up with Ashley and Andrew for their engagement photos in Prospect Park, Ashley immediately asked if she could hold Capa. It was a trip to see someone I’ve known since my first day in kindergarten throw my eight-month-old baby on their hip. For as long as I can remember, Ashley has always had a maternal presence, caring for her friends as if they were family. Growing up, her mother always welcomed anyone to join their dinner table and it’s endearing to see Ashley embody their tradition of hospitality.
I met Andrew for the first time when I caught a performance of he and Ashley’s band, Moondrunk, at a bar in Brooklyn a few years back. As a hip-hop fan, I was blown away by Andrew’s ability to freestyle rap, a skill that both he and Ashley have shown off in their Broadway performances with Freestyle Love Supreme. From the outside looking in, freestyle rapping is terrifying--conjuring up punchlines seemingly out of thin air--but from a fellow freestyler (albeit a very amateur one), it is one of the most welcoming, loose, fun, and creative experiences I know. You should really try it sometime, or better yet, take a class!
Heather and I are similar to Ash and Andrew in that we are hustlers. While they try to plan things around a hectic performance and rehearsal schedule, we try to plan things around weddings and engagements. We both show up everyday, on time, ready to work, but behind the scenes we are trying to catch our breath (at least speaking for Heather and I). Yet every time Heather and I get a stretch of time at home we enjoy it for a few days then get a bit restless. I imagine it must be the same for Ashley and Andrew, who spend a lot of time in the spotlight.
In the end, it always feels better to push ourselves than to rest on our laurels. For years I allowed myself to stay inside, thinking too much, and not taking enough action. At some point I gave myself an ultimatum: either you put yourself out there or you tell yourself that you are okay never giving it a try. This black-and-white approach allowed me to simplify an otherwise convoluted emotional dilemma, and I began performing spoken word poetry in bars around Manhattan. Through that experience, I learned that I didn’t enjoy performing as much as I enjoyed creating and expressing myself with words and rhythm. I never knew it would lead to me telling couples love stories but here I am--I’ll leave the spotlight for the professionals like Ashley and Andrew.
Sunrise Elopement Vow Exchange at Brooklyn Bridge
Apollo Fields | Brooklyn Bridge Engagement | Sunrise Brooklyn Bridge Photos | Wedding Photos Brooklyn Bridge | Brooklyn Bridge park, NY
It’s funny how the arches of Brooklyn Bridge, in all of their man-made glory, reminded me of the natural beauty of the Grand Tetons at sunrise. I’ve really learned to love the quiet of early mornings, especially in places like New York City that are known for their cacophony of sounds. When we met up with Vanessa and Jake to photograph them as they shared their vows that October morning, there were plenty of cars whizzing by below us but none were blaring their horns. The only sounds we heard were the heavy breaths of bikers passing by and their bells ringing in the distance.
Vanessa and Jake are one of those couples that claim that they don't know what to do in front of the camera then proceed to dance and play like they are the stars of a rom-com. I’m trying to find a word more accurate than ‘chemistry’ that captures this--the way that two people interact when they are so obviously in love. I think it’s part being comfortable with PDA and part being comfortable with yourself; and we could tell very quickly that Vanessa and Jake had it whatever it is.
Vanessa and Jake picked the Brooklyn Bridge to have a vow sharing/first date anniversary because that’s where Jake proposed. They playfully recreated the moment on the spot where it happened while popping a bottle of champagne! It seems that in every proposal story the person who is proposing is always uncharacteristically failing at trying to be sly to get their partner to the spot they want to propose and we think it’s hilarious. I mean there’s no smooth way to be like, ‘let’s walk to this super picturesque spot and just take in the good vibes’ without it sounding super forced. Everyone knows that those fleeting moments are so great precisely because they aren’t scripted. Here’s one for all the romantics out there like Jake and I who try no matter what.
From there we trekked to both their old and new neighborhoods in Bed Stuy and got some shots of them at other landmarks of their relationship. We love taking a trip down memory lane with our couples, it gives us a chance to really get to know them. Jake and Vanessa even took a silly photo in front of a token NYC Chinese food restaurant because Jake has an affinity for those hole-in-the-wall joints--and who can blame him, boneless spare ribs are effing delicious.
Spending that morning with Vanessa and Jake really solidified why I love New York as much as I love the mountains. We just walked and told stories and watched as the city came alive (I was totally blown away by how many people go for a run at sunrise). Heather goes on and on about the beautiful alpen glow of the morning and the golden hour at night and I hate to admit that I’m beginning to enjoy chasing the light with her. Whether it is on mountain peaks, city streets, or a fluorescent light behind a Chinese restaurant sign, to the light we go.
Enjoy these images from Vanessa & Jake’s sunrise ceremony:
Photography: Apollo Fields
