Kayla & Jose
Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island
June 15th, 2025
At the beginning of every engagement session I shoot, I like to talk to my clients and set some basic ideas for what they should expect. The first thing I tell them is that we're really only looking for a couple of nice photos of the two of them together so there's no need to stress every time I lift the camera. Second, I tell them the whole point of an engagement session is for the three of us to get to know each other so that the wedding day is much easier.
Lastly, I tell them they should expect the shoot to be fun.
I'm not sure if Kayla and Jose, whose engagement session I photographed at Roger Williams Park back in June, heard my first two instructions but I knew they heard the last one and took it as a personal challenge because for two hours on a hot and gloomy day, we bounced from spot to spot in one of Rhode Island's best parks and they laughed all the way.
And if this is any indication of how their wedding day is going to go, I can't wait because I know it's going to be an amazing time.
My engagement session with Kayla and Jose almost didn't happen as the three of us spent days pouring over the local forecast and unsure whether we should proceed or try again later in the month. Thankfully, this soon-to-be bride and groom are very go with the flow and when it was clear their chosen day would be dark and gloomy, but otherwise completely fine, we decided to try our luck and keep the session on.
Within moments I could tell that was a good call as Kayla and Jose arrived in good spirits and only got more fun and sillier as our time went on.
The three of us started our session in one of my favorite spots at Roger Williams Park; The entrance to the Japanese Gardens and while I like to take all my couples to this location, I don't think I've ever seen it look as nice as it did for Kayla and Jose.
As annoying as the constant rain has been this year, I do have to admit that it has made the foliage throughout Rhode Island look amazing and that's pretty promising for the fall. As for this day, once I got Kayla and Jose into the Japanese Gardens proper, there were no limits to the spots we went to. Everything looked great and these two were adorable regardless of where I posed them.
I do think my favorite little spot during this part of their session was one the couple chose, though, as a little tucked away bench in the midst of some funky-shaped trees really provided a beautiful spot for Kayla and Jose to pose together while I photographed them from the other side of the lake (Thank goodness for long camera lenses, right?)
I could have kept Kayla and Jose in the Japanese Gardens all afternoon but the two wanted to switch out outfits and I did want to hit some of my other favorite spots in the park. I'm glad we did because the cloudy and dark skies really made the Temple To Music look amazing on this afternoon.
The funniest thing to me about working with clients like Kayla and Jose is how fast an engagement session can seemingly go.
As we noticed the skies getting darker and darker, I looked down at my watch and realized we were almost at the sunset part of the evening ... and had already been shooting together for almost two hours as we left the Temple To Music.
This left us time for one more location and while my options at this park were unlimited, I decided to try my luck at the Iron Footbridge and I'm so glad we did as the fully saturated green trees were stunning on this day and the best way we could have hoped for Kayla and Jose to cap their session off.
As Kayla, Jose and I made our way back to our respective vehicles, I couldn't help but laugh when thinking about how fast my time with these two evaporated before my eyes. I take that as a huge compliment and a promising sign because, honestly, their engagement session felt less like work and more like catching up with old friends and shooting the breeze.
This bodes incredibly well for their fall 2026 wedding and I can only hope that day proves to be as silly and carefree as this shoot was. So, thank you Kayla and Jose for a wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon. I hope you had as much fun as I did and I can't wait to do it all over again next year. See you then. :)
-Paul J. Spetrini
