Providence Engagement Photos
Tanya & Stephen
Downtown Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
February 24th, 2024
Downtown Providence gets a bad rap. Maybe it's because of the constant traffic or how busy the area gets sometimes but, for whatever reason, I've found it's not given enough credit as a backdrop for photos as it should.
That's why, whenever the opportunity presents itself for me to take either wedding or engagement photos in this location, I immediately say yes. In the case of Tanya and Stephen, who were undecided between downtown Providence or New Bedford for photos — but knew they wanted something that felt like a city landscape — Providence was easily my top choice.
And with good reason.
As much fun as shooting in the city is, though, the real strength of Tanya and Stephen's engagement session back in February had nothing to do with buildings, or rivers or landscapes. It was the soon-to-be bride and groom at the heart of the day and, in that regard, I couldn't have asked for a better first engagement session of 2024 than with these two remarkably fun people.
I knew from the first few moments of working with Tanya and Stephen that this would be a super easygoing kind of day and I was right. While the bride felt a little uncomfortable in photos at times, I was so thankful she communicated that with me as it gave us plenty of time to find angles and poses she liked.
Honestly, that's like half the reason you do an engagement session. The other half is watching how the couple you're working with is interacting and, in this regard, Tanya and Stephen couldn't have been more fun to work with.
Whether it was finding some standard poses that fit them well or making it up as we went, Tanya and Stephen had a natural fun vibe to them that I know looked great against the beautiful (even if it was cold out) city backdrop.
Tanya and Stephen chose two locations for our photos — Waterplace Park and the still newish Providence Pedestrian Bridge — and both looked gorgeous on this cold February afternoon.
I especially loved Waterplace Park as that area is always fun for just walking around and finding cool little locations, like when we found a nice little bench area that provided some of my favorite photos of the entire day.
The Pedestrian Bridge, meanwhile, was a bit of a mixed bag. As beautiful as it was, the spot felt like a wind tunnel and we were treated with some crazy bright sun. To their credit, though, Tanya and Stephen powered through for some really sweet photos together ... even if sometimes they couldn't fully see.
Even though the Pedestrian Bridge hasn't been open for that long, I feel pretty comfortable at the location now and I'm so glad I am because I knew we could go to the lower level and avoid some of the wind and sun that had been so distracting above.
What I didn't know was that was going to yield some of my favorite photos of the entire day. Talk about a great way to end a photo shoot.
Even though my teeth were chattering by the end of Tanya and Stephen's engagement session, I could have easily stayed out in the elements for another two hours working with these two. We had a great time together and spent a lot of time talking about their wedding this fall and I've already made a mental note that it's likely going to be one of my favorites this year.
Sure, we won't have the beautiful city backdrop to work with on that October afternoon but I know, deep down, I have all I'll need for a beautiful wedding shoot as long as this bride and this groom are there. So thanks for a lovely afternoon together Tanya and Stephen. I look forward to doing it all over again very, very soon and can't wait to see you guys walk down the aisle and become husband and wife. :)
-Paul J. Spetrini
