New Jersey Engagement at Jockey Hollow by Sarah Canning Photography

For those who don’t know, Fall is the most popular season for engagement sessions. The weather is perfect, not too hot or cold, and the stunning golden and orange tones that consume the leaves on the trees photograph beautifully. It’s a popular season for many reasons and is also a wedding photographer’s busiest season. As I reflect on this past year, I look back on this specific engagement session. Brooke and Ryan to be exact. A bit camera shy in the beginning led them to fully flourish at the end. Their passionate and loving personalities during their New Jersey Engagement at Jockey Hollow were so magnetic that I don’t think I can get over it.

New Jersey Engagement at Jockey Hollow

For Brooke and Ryan’s engagement, they knew for a fact they wanted to head to Jockey Hollow in Morristown, New Jersey. It’s actually where Brooke and Ryan currently reside. Which holds a special place in their heart for them and their love story. So making sure we went to and incorporated Jockey Hollow into their engagement session was a must!

Jockey Hollow Bar+ Kitchen

Jockey Hollow has a lot of history and beautiful architecture. So finding the perfect location wasn’t going to be that hard. From the name of it, The Jockey Hollow Bar + Kitchen sounds like your ordinary restaurant. However, this truly is a hidden gem if you’re looking for a top-notch location. This multi-level restaurant is housed inside a 20,000 sq. ft mansion. Outside of the restaurant is a beautiful outdoor space with a grand pool. Although, not the kind you can swim in, unfortunately. Keep in mind that while they have no enforced dress code, they do say that dress does lean more towards elegant casual! It’s because of this that Brooke and Ryan went from their more casual outfits at the beginning of their session to something a bit more formal.

The remainder of Brooke and Ryan’s engagement session consisted of us popping a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and admiring the scenery as the sun began to set. This New Jersey engagement session gave me all the goosebumps. I feel so honored to create these special memories for Brooke and Ryan and now, I can’t wait for their wedding day!

How to Choose An Engagement Location

When it comes to choosing locations for your engagement session, there are a few different ways to go about it. Typically we recommend choosing a location that is meaningful to you and your partner’s love story. This could be:

Your first date spot
Where you got engaged
Frequently visited locations/bars/restaurants
An activity that you both enjoy doing together

These not only make your engagement completely unique to you but it makes your session just that much more special. You’re able to look back at your engagement photos, whether they’re framed on a wall or beside your bed, and remember the beautiful memories that you made. It wasn’t just a beautiful location, but it is telling your one-of-a-kind love story.