By Mariah Ashley

A few weeks ago we had two amazing Providence Engagement Sessions on the same evening. You won’t be able to tell from the photos but, it was hot … not just a little hot either, it was 100 degrees in the shade kind of hot. Despite the soaring temperatures, our two couples were ready and willing to battle the humidity and we had a great time snapping it up around town. I don’t generally post engagement sessions on the blog, but it occurred to me that in 4 hours of time and in roughly a three mile radius, we were able to photograph two sessions that look entirely different. In short, Providence has a lot to offer for backgrounds!

I wish more of our couples would opt for Providence as their engagement session location. It’s fun strolling around the city and finding pretty nooks, quiet side streets, lovely parks, and artsy corners. I especially like Providence for couples who are having rural or beachy weddings, why not mix it up and do a little something different with your engagement photos?

We started with Ashley and Dinis who are getting married next June. This shot is actually the last photo we took but I thought it would be a great way to kick off this Providence post. I love this view of the city from South Water Street on the Providence River Greenway. This is such a pretty little park and really shows how cool the downtown area is.

From South Water Street, we took a quick hop over to historic Benefit Street. It’s literally an outdoor museum of historic homes!

It was a good time,  moseying along with Dinis and Ashley, and of course their pup Nina, pausing in front of and sometimes on stoops for some snuggling. We took our time chatting and laughing along the way.How good looking are these three? Seriously! I am renaming them from left to right; Sparkly Eyes, Princess Kissy Face, and Captain Smoochable. Right?!Ashley and Dinis are so in to each other, it made shooting this session a figurative breeze, there was actually no physical breeze… these guys are suffering in the photos here temperature wise, but you’d never know it. The other nice thing about Benefit Street is the shady tree lined sidewalks, which really benefited us this day. Bad pun definitely intended.Just walking a couple of blocks we found all of these fantastic spots, and although it was technically mid to late afternoon, we found great light to work with.The photo on the left was taken in a tiny driveway!

I’ve titled the photo on the right… Dinis gets himself a knockout.

Dinis needed no coaching on the kiss and lift. He’s got the moves, he’s very sweet and gentle even though he beats people up for a living. He’s not a hit man or anything like that… actually he’s a MMA  fighter. I begged him not to get his beautiful choppers knocked out before the wedding but he wouldn’t make any promises. After we left Ashley and Dinis we made our way over to Westminster Street to meet up with some old friends for our next session.  Don’t you just love Providence?This is Anthony and Stephanie! We adore them. We met Anthony a few years ago when his sister Joanna {hey Joanna!} got married in Bristol. We’ve faithfully followed along with Joanna after photographing the wedding and have watched her beautiful family grow from 2 to 4 over the past few years!

I remembered Anthony because I’ll never forget older {bossy} sister Joanna giving him a hard time at the house on the day of her wedding. I can say that about Joanna as a fellow older bossy sister. Anthony took it in stride and tried his best to make things go smoothly for his sister. He’s a good guy. And good guys finish … FIRST! Look at this beauty he’s sharing a moment with in front of a random store that happens to match Stephanie’s shirt. Anthony’s family is local, we love Rhode Islanders! We also love anchors, which just so happens to be the symbol on Rhode Island’s state flag. How cute is this little yellow anchor. 10 bucks to anyone who can tell me where we found it. Hint, I was horrified when Trish suggested perching Stephanie’s ring on it.Couldn’t resist.Quintessential! I love doing the fun artsy photos but the session doesn’t feel complete until there’s a shot like this… a classic! Beautiful light, lovely expressions, and a  dreamy soft background. We took these next shots on Blackstone Boulevard. This is the shot to give the parents.For this photo I just snuck behind the tree that was in the background of the previous photo and shot through the branches. Voila! Two very different photos in the same spot. Loving the love factor in this one.I can already picture these two in another 50 years sitting on a bench in the evening watching the world go by. Still cute… still in love! This photo is so summer time lovin’. Thank you setting sun!It’s a wrap. We love our couples and we love Providence engagement sessions!