Stacee & Derek
Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island
June 29th, 2025
One of the hardest parts about shooting an engagement session is it's typically the first time you meet a bride and groom in person, you work together for a couple of hours and then you don't get to see them again for a year or longer.
I think that's why I always appreciate when my schedule lucks out in such a way that a client books their engagement session a short while before their wedding day and, in the case of Stacee and Derek, that meant getting together at Roger Williams Park back at the end of June ... less than two from the day they will say "I do" later this summer.
I could tell immediately Stacee and Derek were my kind of people and within minutes, we went from total strangers to old pals and I went from having their date on my calendar as a wedding I'm doing in August to having it be one of the weddings I'm most looking forward to this summer.
It doesn't take much to get me excited to work with a client but I always warn everyone I work with that the first 15 minutes we're together are likely to be awkward. Luckily, Stacee and Derek embraces that awkwardness and while we initially got comfortable with one another for some test photos, it wasn't long before we were running through some of my favorite go-to poses at the entrance of the Japanese Gardens.
Stacee and Derek lucked out with a beautiful and sunny day for their engagement session, a rarity it seems this season and I don't think they could have asked for more from Roger Williams Park. I especially loved the way the foliage looked in the background of the small bridges that the soon-to-be newlyweds posed on. It looked so nice I couldn't decide which are in the Gardens I liked best.
What made working with Stacee and Derek so fun is they weren't afraid to be silly or try their own versions of poses, like the shot above that was Stacee's attempt at nuzzling up to Derek.
All told, we spent nearly an hour in or around the Japanese Gardens and, honestly, I could have done their entire session here. That's how nice it looked.
When I finally did manage to move Stacee and Derek around the park, our first attempted location was a bust as the Temple to Music was in some pretty rough lighting. Thankfully, I know this park like the back of my hand and decided to take Stacee and Derek to a more secluded area on the other side of the lake that I have loved working at in previous shoots.
It was no exception on this day as the sun was bright, shining and fun to work with. Just like the couple.
I couldn't believe how fast my time with Stacee and Derek was flying on this warm but beautiful summer evening but, before we called it a night, I simply had to take them to my favorite spot in the park this year: The Iron Footbridge.
I don't know if this is my reward for all the rain we've had this year but I've never seen the trees near this bridge look better and it was the perfect place for us to cap Stacee and Derek's shoot.
I think we picked a good time, too, as these two were getting more and more silly with one another as the shoot went along and I almost couldn't control how fun these two were getting.
As my time with Stacee and Derek came to an end, I decided to thank the two family members they brought with them to assist by setting up one final sequence of shots: Some night time gel shots on the bridge with atmosphere spray.
I've really loved the way these shots have been this year but, more importantly, it's always a lot of fun to cap a great shoot off with something a bit more creative and I can't think of no better way to have ended my time with this bride and groom that some sweet, purple goodness.
So, thank you Stacee and Derek for an absolutely lovely afternoon together. I can't wait to do it all again in a few weeks and see just how much trouble we can all get into in what I have no doubt will be an absolutely awesome wedding none of us will soon forget. See you in August! :)
-Paul J. Spetrini
