When it comes to classic winter activities, ice skating in Central Park tops my list. Amongst frost-covered foliage, Sweetwater Portraits set out for a spin and captured this perfectly New York engagement session. From lacing up to sharing sweet kisses over hot cocoa, these free skating sweethearts will warm you heart. See every spin and twirl, right here!
From the beautiful Bride-to-be… Unbeknownst to us, our friends worked together, my brother coached his brother and his good friend from High School went to college with me yet it took a random Sunday in NYC for the two of us to cross paths. The Giants were playing and two of my closest girlfriends and I decided to go to a local Upper East Side bar to watch. I had “heard” about Chad through my friend who worked with his friend. Single, nice guy, brother plays for Fordham (where my brother coached). My friends co-worker, the one who knew Chad from college, joined us and then decided to convince Chad to come by for a drink. It was the start of busy season at work so he was at the office on a Sunday. I’m glad he decided to “take a break” from work that day because that would be the day I would meet my future husband. J
1.5 years later, Chad got down on a knee at Castle Hill in Newport, one of our favorite places.
For my birthday, Chad bought tickets to one of my favorite bands (The Lumineers) and the concert was in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a Saturday morning and we were about to start our drive up to Newport. Chad went to get the Jeep which was down the block from my apartment to pick me up (the ring was in the side of his bag at this point). As he pulled up, I opened up the trunk and put my bag next to his. I grabbed my sunglasses and offered to get his and as he said yes, he broke into a slight panic attack and yelled “Sunglasses are in the FRONT pocket of the bag”. Guess he was trying to avoid me going in the wrong pocket and then having to propose on 74th and York Ave at 7am with a bunch of Taxi’s driving by. I didn’t notice the freak out at that point so hopped in the car and off we went!
Chad had set up brunch reservations at Castle Hill which overlooks the entire Newport Harbor. We arrived and his initial reaction when pulling into the parking lot was literally… “Sh*t, valet?!?!” (His plan was to park the Jeep near the entrance and at the end of brunch go to the “bathroom” aka run to the Jeep and get the ring…sooo valet was messing up his control over this). Thinking his reaction was a little dramatic, as most people think valet is a good thing, I didn’t think anything of it beyond that.
After brunch, he went to the “bathroom” and got the ring out of the Jeep. We walked down to the lighthouse where we had taken funny pictures that past winter when we had been there and Chad asked me to take a picture of him doing the same ridiculous pose. I went into my bag to get the camera and when I looked up, he was on a knee!
When we arrived back in NYC after the weekend in Newport, Chad had arranged both families to be together at our favorite restaurant (East End Kitchen, where some of our engagement pictures would be taken) for dinner. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect weekend!
From Sweetwater Portraits…Central Park has never looked prettier than on the crisp winter’s day I photographed Jenn and Chad’s engagement session. There’s not many couples who specifically request a winter engagement session and I’m so glad they did. It proved to be an amazing winter wonderland backdrop. I loved the huge piles of snow and Jenn and Chad’s fantastic ice skating skills. A steaming cup of hot cocoa and a taxi ride to Jenn and Chad’s favorite neighborhood restaurant finished off the evening.
Photography: Sweetwater Portraits | Venue: Central Park
