Engaged couple at Sayen Gardens

Sayen House and Gardens Engagement Eunice and Sun | Associate Engagement by Jocelyn

Engagements

Eunice and Sun met in high school when they attended the same church. They dated secretly for a year, as Eunice’s parents didn’t allow her to date. It was a sweet and innocent relationship: they were each other’s first loves! After Sun went to college, they remained friends and their friendship became even stronger with time, evolving into the relationship they have today. They ended up getting engaged last April and started planning their September wedding!
For their engagement session, Eunice and Sun met up with our Associate Photographer Jocelyn at Sayen Gardens. This is one of our favorite locations for an engagement session due to its lush natural setting and beautiful scenery! We love the chemistry between these two – they are so incredibly happy together and it’s so easy to see in every image. We can’t wait to see them as bride and groom and luckily, we don’t have to wait long for that because these two are getting married this Saturday! We’re so excited to see the images Jocelyn and Marianne create for them on their wedding day. If this session is any indication of how beautiful their wedding images will be, we’re in for a treat! Enjoy this peek into their engagement session!

Sayen House and Gardens engagement session photographed by Idalia Photography associate photographer Jocelyn outdoor garden Sayen House and Gardens engagement session by Idalia Photography bride and groom hold hands during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens

Their first date

“This was years ago, when we first dated. We went to go watch a movie that is infamous for being terrible – Gigli. I’m honestly not sure what drove us to go watch this movie! Shortly after the movie started, there was a malfunction and the film reel (or whatever they were using) caught on fire and we saw the smoke and shriveling on screen! We like to joke around that the movie was so terrible that it self-destructed to prevent people from watching it.”

groom kisses bride during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with Idalia Photography associate photographer Jocelyn happy couple laughing during Sayen House and Gardens by Idalia Photography engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens photographed by Idalia Photography joyful engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with Idalia Photography associate photographer Jocelyn bride and groom on bridge at Sayen House and Gardens engagement session with Idalia Photography

When they knew they had found the one

“After being friends for so long after our relationship, we truly enjoyed and appreciated each other’s personality, company and friendship. There was no “a-ha!” moment, but when we started dating again a few years ago, both of us knew that it was meant to be!”

shoe details for couple during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with NJ wedding photographer Idalia Photography romantic NJ engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with Idalia Photography groom kisses bride tenderly during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens NJ wedding photographer Idalia Photography captures engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens happy couple during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens couple explores Sayen House and Gardens during engagement session with Idalia Photography associate photographer Jocelyn

The proposal

“Eunice’s best friend was getting married in Los Angeles over the weekend, so we decided to make the most of the trip and planned a mini-vacation. We drove to Las Vegas the day after the wedding to go see the canyons. We both had been talking about Antelope Canyon as a place on our bucket list, and decided that we’d go check it out! Without buying tickets ahead of time (a lot of reviews said we didn’t have to – false!), we headed out to the canyon early one morning. On the way, Eunice decided to call and see how many availabilities there were. On the first call, the tour company said there were no available positions, which make Sun anxious as he had a specific plan (little to Eunice’s knowing). Eunice called again a little later on, and someone had made a last minute cancellation, which worked out. We got there 1.5 hours early, and just relaxed while waiting for our tour. The entire time, Sun was quiet and seemed out of it, which Eunice thought was due to waking up early and driving for hours to get to the canyon! The tour started, and we ventured down into the canyon. It was about a 0.5 mile walk through the canyon, where Eunice kept asking to take a boomerang video, and Sun kept saying to wait until we got to a better part of the canyon. Eventually, we got to the last segment of the canyon, and Sun said this was the perfect spot. Luckily, a family that was in our tour had not gone up the ladder yet, so Sun asked the father to take a video for us really quickly. 1-2-3, Eunice poses, but as she looks to Sun, she saw him getting down on one knee. Sun had a speech that he memorized, which he forgot due to the excitement! The important parts were said, and as Eunice said yes, the tour behind us cheered and congratulated us.”

summer engagement portraits at Sayen House and Gardens engagement portraits with Idalia Photography at Sayen House and Gardens NJ wedding photographer photographs couple in gazebo at Sayen House and Gardens engaged couple poses on bridge at Sayen House and Gardens during engagement session

All about the ring

“The ring is a beautiful cushion cut (almost perfectly square!) ring with pave diamond on the platinum band. I love the fact that it is basically a perfect cushion, which was the most important thing for me. The size is perfect! I’m 99% sure that I had mentioned to Su that I wanted a cushion cut with pave, showed him photos of the exact ring I want (which I got!). But Sun will argue and say that the whole ring was his idea that he designed with a jeweler.”

diamond engagement ring at Sayen House and Gardens engagement sessiongroom lifts bride during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens happy engaged couple poses during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with NJ wedding photographer Idalia Photography

One thing they love about each other

Eunice: “I love that Sun is able to make me laugh, no matter how I am feeling.”

Sun: “I love that Eunice brings the best out in me in every aspect.”

casual summer engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens bride and groom pose during engagement session with Idalia Photography groom kisses brides hand during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with Idalia Photography casual laughs during Sayen House and Gardens engagement session with Idalia Photography

Their wedding vision

“We both love the idea of a rustic wedding, whether barn-style or tented. White, blush, dusty blue, and stained wood are the colors we are loving. We want something that is elegant yet laid back, where people will have a lot of fun. Most important is the love and celebration with our close friends and family!”

bride and groom pose casually on bridge at Sayen House and Gardens couple walks with Idalia Photography at engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens couple relaxes on bridge during engagement session at Sayen House and Gardens with Idalia Photography

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If we haven't met yet, I'm Alex! I'm passionate about discovering beautiful stories, documenting genuine moments, and capturing timeless images along the way. Here I share my latest work, a peek at the heirlooms we create, and helpful resources. Thank you so much for visiting my blog!

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