Grounds for Sculpture Engagement Session

August 2, 2024

When I photographed a graduation party in June, I had a feeling I would run into someone from my high school. Sure enough, I saw Emmanuel, whom I’ve known since middle school, and Pritika from my fifth-grade class! I also learned that Emmanuel and I are interning at the same company this summer, so we decided to catch up over lunch.

During our lunch, Emmanuel and I reminisced about our high school orchestra days, shared our college experiences, and delved into his and Pritika’s love story. Their story is incredibly sweet. They started their relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintained it long-distance during their undergrad education. Four years later, they got engaged in Europe! One special thing Emmanuel kept mentioning was how lucky he felt to have Pritika in his life, which was so sweet!

Pritika and Emmanuel chose Grounds for Sculpture for their engagement session, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled! Pritika envisioned photos in sunny weather with a fairytale-like ambiance, which was a dream for me to capture! Pritika and Emmanuel brought two very well thought out outfits (with different shoes and jewelry!) and they got so many comments throughout the session. Pritika also had a beautiful bouquet of flowers that complemented their outfits so well! Emmanuel navigated us with his phone, and I paused whenever I spotted beautiful light. We ended with a huge variety of photos!

To Pritika and Emmanuel— Thank you so much for a fun and memorable session! I am so glad I got to reunite with the two of you at the grad party earlier this summer! I hope you love the photos as much as I do! The love between you two is so evident, and I’m so happy for both of you!

We started our session at River Birch Allée!

Love this one!

Some photos at the Lotus Pond

We found an area with trees and took some photos there. This one is one of my (and Pritika’s) favorites!

Stunning!

Pritika really wanted some photos with the peacocks, and Emmanuel was so determined to make it happen. We eventually found some peacocks and took photos!

Some detail shots!

Pritika made this lovely bouquet with flowers from Trader Joe’s and Costco ribbon! If you look closely, you’ll also see the ring!!

Pritika and Emmanuel wanted a second outfit that would go well with all of the greenery. We started the second part of the session at Red Maple Allée!

As we began walking to Monet Bridge, I found a location with super glowy light, so we stopped and took some of my favorite photos of the whole session!

This one is one of my favorites!

So cute!

Pritika and Emmanuel were SO GOOD at the dip!!

We eventually found our way to Monet Bridge!

This is one of Emmanuel’s favorites! They’re stunning!

We found a little area near the bridge and took some really cute photos!

Another one of my favorites!

Pritika and Emmanuel wanted to recreate some proposal photos. This one is so sweet!

Pritika wrote a super sweet letter to Emmanuel, and he opened it during the session!

Get ready for some super glowy, golden hour light!

Emmanuel got the lifting shot on the first try!

At the end of the session, we headed towards the parking lot, but found a few more opportunities for photos along the way- both on my camera and Pritika’s instax!