Spring Engagement Session at Sayen Gardens | Madi & Nick

Madi and Nick’s Spring engagement session at Sayen Gardens engagement was everything spring engagement photos should be — romantic, colorful, and filled with natural beauty. We chose Sayen Gardens specifically for its famous cherry blossoms and Spring blooms, and the location absolutely did not disappoint. With soft pink blooms, winding paths, and lush greenery, it was the perfect setting to tell their love story.

Sayen Gardens is one of the most popular engagement session locations in New Jersey, and for good reason. In the spring, the cherry blossom trees transform the gardens into a dreamy backdrop that feels timeless and elegant.

For Madi and Nick, the blossoms added a soft, romantic feel to their engagement photos while still allowing their personalities and connection to shine through. The variety of scenery throughout the gardens also allowed us to create a diverse gallery without ever feeling rushed.

Congratulations again, Madi & Nick — your engagement session was an absolute joy to photograph!

Madi & Nick first met their freshman year of college at Elon University in North Carolina. Their first official date was spring of their senior year, at a pizza place on campus called Pandora’s Pies.

Madi knew that Nick was the one after about three months of long distance dating. She was in grad school in St. Louis and he was in law school in New Jersey. Long distance, while not ideal, felt so easy and she just felt like it was going to work out in the long run.

Nick knew that Madi was the one during March of 2020. Madi was visiting for spring break and the pandemic lockdown happened. Madi’s trip went from five days to three weeks. They were quarantined in the house with Nick’s entire family, and it was really reassuring to see how well it went!

Engaged 07/07/2024, the proposal: “We were in the Outerbanks for Fourth of July weekend, we and a few friends rented a house. We spent our time on the beach, golfing, and eating some good food. Nick secretly planned for our last day that we go for a hike at Jockey’s Ridge State Park (by the way, Nick hates hiking unless it’s basically refrigerated outside). We began our hike and came to a private, yet open spot with sand dunes all around us. Nick got down on one knee and proposed. We then spent 7 hours in the car driving back to New Jersey, starting to plan our wedding the entire way.”

When Madi, a social worker and Nick, a lawyer aren’t planning their romantic and elegant Renault Winery wedding, they love to watch cooking shows together and with their cat, Ziva. They also like to cook together and go out to eat and try new food, and they like to go to Flyers games and golf. They are always looking for a cool place to visit in either New Jersey, Philadelphia, or New York.

Once married, one of their dreams is to travel to Italy, which they hope to do for their honeymoon! They hope in a couple of years to have a house in South Jersey, and after that, two kids. They both grew up with close-knit families and their hope is to continue to bring their families closer, as Nick’s family is all in South Jersey and Madi’s family is in the Midwest.

Thank you to Madi and Nick for choosing me to be your wedding photographer, I cannot wait to capture your April 2026 wedding at Renault Winery!