LBI NJ Wedding Photographer : LBI Engagement Session – Kate & Avery

Kate & Avery’s LBI engagement session is one of my all-time favorites.  They spend a lot of time on Long Beach Island (and are getting married there this year!!) so of course, we had to have the engagement shoot on the Island too!  I was so happy to introduce them to one of my favorite beaches in Barnegat Light!!  We ended the session in Harvey Cedars to catch the sunset over the bay.

Most summer nights Kate can be found biking around the southern half of LBI on her adorable yellow bike equipped with a basket and phone holder and Avery is always on his skateboard.  I’m so glad they brought their bike and skateboard along so we could incorporate their favorite things into their session!!  How freaking cute is Kate’s bike???

These two are college sweethearts. They met in a Linguistics class at Kutztown University, and Avery decided to sit next to Kate on the first day. After some small talk here and there, and awkwardly grading each other’s mini-quizzes during class, he eventually asked for her number to study together, and the rest is history!!

Their engagement story gave me goosebumps – here’s Kate’s version:  “On November 30, my best friend’s birthday, I was driving to meet her and a few other friends in Kutztown where we all went to college. We had not been back there since we graduated and my friend insisted that she really wanted to go back and hit all our old favorite restaurants and bars. As I was getting close to Kutztown, my friends were reminiscing on campus and had me meet them there. When one of my friends insisted she had to use the bathroom, she went in one of the buildings on campus (which happened to be the same building where our Linguistics class took place) and while we were ‘looking’ for a bathroom she led me to a classroom. Avery was standing in the classroom, with candles and rose petals everywhere. He had been in contact with Kutztown University – because, even though this was during Thanksgiving Break and all the buildings were supposed to be locked up, he had them open up the building and the exact same classroom we met in. He even wore the same outfit as when I first saw him and grew his hair out to the way it was in 2015. All of our friends were there in the building, and he had set up a lunch reservation at one of my favorite restaurants in Kutztown with both of our families. It was the most special day of my entire life – I was in complete shock!!!”  Kudos to Avery for pulling off all of that planning — and even matching his hairstyle from 2015?!   I’m so impressed!!

It was so much fun spending the evening with these two in LBI —  I was laughing almost the entire session – and as you can tell from the below, so were they!  I cannot wait for their Spring wedding at Surf City Yacht Club!!  Here are some of my favorites!!!