If you’re already missing summer, you’re going to love this session because it has all the summer feels! Between drinks at 9th Avenue Pier, a stroll under the fishing pier, and portraits on the beach at golden hour, this was a quintessential Jersey Shore engagement session.

Lindsay and Eric met by matching on a dating app and were engaged last September. You’ll have to read their love story below in their own words because it’s a sweet one. But, let me just tell you that these two have the cutest first date story!

For their Belmar NJ engagement session, Lindsay and Eric met up with our associate photographer, Marianne. I love that they picked spots that were meaningful to them. They were a great combination of fun, romantic, and scenic. Suffice it to say that their session included a rum bucket! Definitely not a bad way to get your groom excited about your engagement shoot! =)

In less than a year, Lindsay and Eric will be tying the knot and celebrating at Crystal Point Yacht Club. They’re planning a wedding with a coastal vibe with a color palette of pale blue, grey, white, and greenery. That sounds perfectly coastal to me! And, I can’t wait for everything to come together for them after their long engagement. In the meantime, check out a few favorite images from their Belmar NJ Engagement Session in the post below!

Hair & Makeup | Renee from Pin it up Bridal in Belmar, NJ
Ring | J Vincent Jewelers in Colts Neck, NJ

Belmar NJ Engagement Session

Their first date

“Eric lived in Hoboken at the time. But, we made plans to meet up at 9th Ave Pier in Belmar for a drink since I was at school at Monmouth University. This was one of my favorite places to go when the weather started getting nice. The morning of our first date, after an initial *panic because I’m about to meet up with a stranger*, two of my college bffs (now bridesmaids!), convinced me that I should go.  Honestly, even if it was awkward I could at least get a rum bucket.

So, the decision was made (because who doesn’t love a good rum bucket?). And, the three of us got in the car and headed to the pier for my date with Eric. When we got there my friends gave me a head start before finding their own table a few feet away behind Eric. They sat so that he couldn’t see them, but I could. Despite their staring and giggling, we had a great first date and I even (almost) completely forgot they were watching… That is, until Eric got up to use the bathroom and walked right past my friends as they were staring at him! At the end of the date, I came clean and told him that my friends were sitting two tables away to make sure he wasn’t a serial killer. Luckily he laughed and it is something we still joke about to this day!”

The Proposal

“When Eric and I started dating, I had just moved back home from college and he lived in Hoboken, so we spent most of our time there. He surprised me by proposing on the Hoboken waterfront, which is a place that is special to us. We had our first kiss there and we spent so many weekends walking that same path along the water. On the day Eric proposed, he told me that we were going to the city to have brunch with his family and to see his brother’s new apartment. The plan was that we were meeting his parents in Hoboken and we were then going to take the Path into the city together.

When we got to Hoboken he called his “mom” (really my friend who was secretly getting into position to take pictures of the entire proposal!) to see where they were. When he got off the phone, he said that their train was running late, so we should go walk by the water to kill some time before they got there. I had no idea what was planned, so I was being my usual self, complaining that I had to use the bathroom, that Eric was walking too fast for me, that I shouldn’t have left my jacket in the car, etc.

When we got to the spot on the pier where he was going to propose, he stopped and told me to “take off my sunglasses” . Naturally, I responded no and asked him why he was being so bossy today. He responded to please just take them off, so even though it was a strange request I finally just took them off. The minute I took them off, he started his proposal speech and got down on one knee to ask me to marry him!”

All about the ring

“I’ve always had this anxiety about engagement rings, because you have to wear it the rest of your life! And I couldn’t imagine having to tell my future fiancé that I didn’t like it! Because of this, Eric and I talked openly about getting engaged and what I would want before it happened. I just thought it was happening at a much later date!! He did an amazing job with the ring (even sneaking in a trip to the jeweler with my mom and his mom to make sure it was perfect). It is perfect and so incredibly sparkly – so much so that a year later he still catches me starting at it all the time!”

“We chose to do our engagement session in Belmar because we now live together in the area and love the beach! We started the session at 9th Ave Pier where we had our first date. I actually emailed the dating app we met on to tell them that we were getting married. They sent us a fun package including the koozies that we used in our session! We then moved to the beach by the fishing pier. Eric loves to fish. So, we actually spend a lot of time out on the jetty and on the beach in that area. I thought it would be a great backdrop for pictures and it went perfectly with the vision for our wedding.”

“Our wedding vision is coastal, with a color palette of pale blue, grey, white, and greenery. Since we love the beach we knew we wanted to get married near the water! But I didn’t want to be hot and sandy on my wedding day which is why we chose Crystal Point for our reception :)”