Engagement Session at Sayen Gardens | Julia & Matt

April 4, 2024

Last Fall, I photographed Julia and Matt’s Engagement Session at Sayen Gardens in Hamilton, NJ. Julia and Matt chose Sayen Gardens as the location of their session because they love how beautiful yet simple the landscape is. They wanted photos that were elegant and wouldn’t go out of style.

Julia and Matt met through a mutual friend in middle school and started to really talk in high school. They began dating freshman year of high school and have been together ever since. Julia says she knew Matt was the one when they started college 500 miles apart. She went out of state to NC while he stayed back in PA. From all the tears every single time she had to go back to school to all of the FaceTime calls and the weekend trips they somehow made it all work. While not easy, this proved how committed they were to making their relationship work. The love, support, and dedication Matt showed is when she knew she had found her life partner.

Engaged on 07/02/2023, the proposal: “We both knew a proposal was coming in the future. We went to look at rings early in 2023 to get ideas. Fast forward a few months, Matt made a plan to go pick up the ring without me knowing. After that, he met with my dad to ask him to marry me. Now for the planning, he talked to my best friend to come up with the plan. He ended up choosing to propose at a winery, a more intimate setting as I didn’t want a lot of people around. He planned that a photographer would be there to capture the special moment. He planned the proposal day for right after we got back from vacation so I wouldn’t be suspicious and he succeeded, I had no idea it was happening! After we celebrated at our favorite dinner spot with our families, it was the perfect day (the rain even held off)!”

Matt, a chemical engineer and Julia, an elementary school teacher are planning a romantic and classic Fall wedding at the Bradford Estate. When they aren’t planning their Bradford Estate wedding, they love to go to TopGolf, watch sports (football and college basketball), play Mario Cart, and binge whatever show they are currently watching. They also love to play pickle ball and paint pottery. Once married, their dreams include starting a family and having 2-3 kids as well as some fur babies. They also would like to travel together and experience new places and cultures, and of course growing old together too!

Julia and Matt’s advice for couple’s currently planning their wedding is to take your time and enjoy every moment. It can be overwhelming but worth all the stress in the end! They are most looking forward to celebrating with all of their friends and family, especially the ones who aren’t an easy drive away.

Thank you to Julia and Matt for choosing me to photograph your engagement session at Sayen Gardens and your Bradford Estate wedding!