Danielle & Tyler | Engagement in St. Augustine, FL

I (Samantha) had the privilege of shooting a family session for Danielle, Tyler, Alayna and Annabelle back in the spring. Not long after, Danielle messaged me that she and Tyler were planning their elopement, and it would be in Florida! At that point, I didn’t care where in Florida it was, I knew I wanted to shoot this elopement. Fortunately, it was a short drive from PCB to St. Augustine, and Danielle wanted Tim and I to capture both the elopement and also the engagement session the day before.

We met Danielle and Tyler in downtown St. Augustine first for their engagement session—an afternoon marked by soft light, some pop-up thunderstorms that definitely kept us on our toes, and romantic backdrops.

We started on Magnolia Avenue, where the canopy of oaks and hanging moss gave us quiet, filtered light. Tim and I got there a few minutes early to test the lighting. As they parked and got out of their car, we all suddenly heard the cry of a peacock down the street, and Danielle shouted “We’ve got to get a shot with the peacock!” Can do!

Danielle wore a gorgeous white matching set, and Tyler looked breezy in a pale blue jacket and light trousers. Clean lines, thoughtful styling, and perfectly effortless; they looked like they belonged on the cover of Southern Bride.

From there, we moved to Lion’s Bridge, where the light turned gold and we definitely stopped traffic a few times. As we walked back to our cars, Tim started snapping candids, and thank God he did. Photographers can only dream of catching light like this. One of the things I love about shooting with my husband is I almost never have to edit his shots…he nails them every time.

At our final stop, we were joined by Danielle’s daughters and Tyler’s parents at Memorial Presbyterian Church. Against the white washed walls of this 19th century masterpiece, we took family portraits that looked like they were taken at sunset in Greece.

The next day, we would be shooting their elopement ceremony, so Tim and I wrapped up, grabbed a beverage downtown, and then headed home for an early night. We had a wedding to shoot in the morning.

—

Looking to create something understated and timeless for your own engagement session? Let’s talk.