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Natural light fan, blush lover, never not dreaming of Mexican food, join me as I share my favorite moments and details from the engagements and weddings I capture in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and beyond. P.S: Exploring blogs is better with a margarita!


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Beach Engagement at Cape May | Gerri + Joe

Jul 6, 2022

When couples ask you to head to the beach for their engagement session, 99.9% of the time you say YES! During peak summer time, a lot of couples are wanting to dip their toes in the sand and enjoy the beautiful ocean breeze for their engagement photos and guess what? I’m not opposed to that either! Gerri and Joe’s beach engagement session at Cape May was utter perfection which is why I just HAD to share the beautiful magic that we created.

Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is known as “America’s Original Seaside Resort” for many different reasons. As soon as you enter into this quaint town, you’re greeted with rich history, beautiful architecture, and beaches galore. Oh, and you can’t forget the endless amounts of shopping opportunities too – lol. This charming town has become an ultimate destination for anybody looking for a weekend getaway or just somewhere where you can unwind, relax and escape reality. In Gerri and Joe’s case, they are BIG beach lovers and are always wanting to soak up that summer sun. They have frequently visited Cape May, so it was only natural that we had their engagement photos taken here.

Congress Hall

For Gerri and Joe’s beach engagement at Cape May, we first started off Cape May’s Congress Hall. Congress Hall is actually called America’s First Seaside Resort. This seaside resort truly immerses you into the experience of this charming beach town living. The bright yellow exterior and towering pillars made for the perfect spot for us to start their engagement session. I think we also need an honorable mention for Gerrie & Joe’s well coordinated outfits. These two wore coordinating colors, without them clashing or overwhelming their photos which were the perfect engagement outfits. In a recent blog I published, I deep dive further into tips on what to wear to your engagement session. To read all about that, just click here!

Beach Engagement at Cape May

Shortly after, we decided to switch up some scenery and take a nice leisurely walk throughout the Downtown area of Cape May. As I mentioned before, Cape May is filled with victorian style cottages and quaint shops. It essentially feels like being transported into a more nautical version of Gilmore Girls!

Now, if you’re the type of person who looks at these photos and thinks “that could never be me”, let me tell you why you’re wrong. Everyone can look confident and beautiful in front of the camera, so let’s throw that whole mentality of “I’m not photogenic” out the window. All it takes is a little bit of confidence, practice and guidance from your photographer! While of course we love a good classic pose, I truly love it when my couples are able to act candidly and freely in front of the camera. This not only makes your photos look more natural, but it also makes them feel more you.

Tip: If you’re shooting somewhere in public and don’t want all eyes on you, find out when it’s the least busy. If you’re heading to a busy restaurant, aim to go towards opening or closing to avoid heavy crowds. Same thing with packed beaches or parks, leaning more towards early morning shoots or evening allows for their to be less of a chance of a huge crowd!

How to Prep for a Beach Engagement

After wandering throughout downtown, we decided to kick off our shoes and head to the beach! Gerri traded in her jeans for a more flowy romper. While Joe kept things pretty neutral with a white button up. While you may think that heading to the beach in some comfy clothes is all you need to do to prep for a beach engagement session, there’s a bit more work that is involved. By work I mean you need to prep for just about anything! So here are some tips on how to prep for a beach engagement!

Timing is Everything

As we know, the beach has little to no shade. So making sure you’re heading to the beach at the right time is CRUCIAL. While you may think that mid-day sun is the most well lit time for your engagement photos, it can tend to be a little to harsh for photography. Typically when it comes to beach engagements, we want to aim either early morning (like sunrise) or early evening (to capture that golden hour glow).

Bring the Necessities

Treat your beach engagement session as if you’re taking a regular beach day, minus the swimsuits and giant umbrella. Making sure you pack the necessities is still just as important whether you’re lounging in the sun or taking some beautiful photos. Some items to potentially pack for your beach engagement are:

  • Beach blanket and/or towels
  • Sunscreen
  • Sandals (flip flops can snap too easily)
  • Water (we have to stay hydrated!)
  • Comb or Hairbrush (the wind will in fact make your hair turn into a birds nest)

These are just some (not all) of the items that can make being at the beach for your engagement session THAT much more enjoyable.

Prepare to Get Wet

You’re at the beach right? So you have to prepare that at some point you might get a bit wet, it’s really inevitable! Soak up the sun, dip your toes in the water and remember that you’re here to have fun and get some epic photos.

Gerri and Joe’s beach engagement at Cape May was truly one that I will never forget. They are some of the most down-to-earth and kindest people I have ever met. Which made this session all the more fun and memorable. I’ll be counting down the days until their wedding this upcoming September – cheers to G+J!!

Loving this Beach Engagement at Cape May? Then you might want to check out this blog here!

Weddings

  1. […] and closer. I even had the pleasure of capturing their engagement session in Cape May, NJ too. You can read more about that here. This Summer, Gerri and Joe’s Modern Romantic Wedding at the John James Audubon Center was […]

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@sarahcanningphoto

Mexican food connoisseur. Most likely to quote F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Philadelphia wedding and engagement photographer.
Follow along as I share all my favorite things and more on Instagram while capturing couples madly in love!    

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