renfrew park sunrise engagement session

Golden hour is the best time of day to achieve the perfect dreamy light when photographing outdoor sessions. Most of the time, our couples think of this time as before sunset. But – golden hour also occurs in the minutes following sunrise, insert all the heart eyes here!!!

While early, a sunrise session is the perfect time for an intimate session like your engagement. Not only is the lighting ideal but it’s incredibly peaceful as the rest of the world sleeps. It gives us free rein of your location without the hustle and bustle of the world around you, just the two of you standing there, focused solely on each other.

From Gabbie: I think our favorite part of this season of our lives is just the excitement that we have for that next step and enjoying making these life decisions together. As for our story, we are “high school sweethearts.” We have been together for 5 and a half years and if you would have asked us then where we would be now I don’t think either one of us would have predicted this. After doing the long distance relationship for most of our time together we decided to start talking about the right time to get married and I was patiently waiting to see when he would pop the question. I never knew that a “double date” would have turned into a proposal. As we were waiting for our friends to join us for dinner we decided to walk around a park for a few minutes in Old Town Alexandria. We found a quiet bench beside the water to sit on and wait and before I knew it Jake was on one knee and proposing. I was shocked and automatically said yes! After I saw my gorgeous ring I looked up to see our friends taking pictures and coming to see us. He had everything planned out perfectly. I never would have guessed that our “double date” was actually the best date of our relationship and the beginning of the rest of our lives.

The conditions for Gabbie + Jake’s Renfrew Park sunrise engagement session could not have been better. While it was a little cold outside, the sun was shining perfectly above and the wind did not grace us with its presence until the end of the session. When it did, it was blowing in just the right direction! It caught Gabbie’s hair and blew it behind her almost like we had a wind machine in her face the whole time. It could not have been better if I planned it.

Since Gabbie + Jake opted for an early morning session, I was able to capture one of the locations I’ve shot at many times before, Renfrew Park, in a new light. Because the sun was in a different position in the sky, we were able to utilize different areas of the park that during afternoon golden hour would not be ideal. Without having to go far, Gabbie + Jake’s session looks like we’re worlds away in comparison.

Gabbie + Jake brought along two outfits for their session to show off different sides of their personalities and relationship. With temperatures in the 30s, they snuggled up under a fall printed blanket for part of our session. These beautiful, intimate moments keeping each other warm are some of my favorite shots from their session.

Gabbie + Jake, thank you for braving the near freezing temperatures and early morning hours with me. Capturing the two of you and the love you share for each other almost made me forget about how chilly it was! Congratulations again on your engagement. This is certainly an exciting chapter in your lives together and I couldn’t be happier for the two of you!

-xo-

Jamie