Some sessions feel like a deep exhale. Like time slowing down in the best way. That’s exactly how it felt documenting Phyllis and Craig’s engagement session at their home in Middleboro, Massachusetts.
Their property is more than just where they live. It’s where they’re building a life together. 10 acres of peaceful land, two horses (Ace and Mariah), two sweet pups (Shilo and Montana), and soon… it’ll be the very place they say “I do” at in October. So when we started chatting about where to take their photos, it was an easy answer… Home.
The beginning of something good
I always ask my couples how they met, and I could listen to Phyllis tell this story a hundred times and never get tired of it.
She was bartending at Fisher’s Pub, and Craig was one of her regulars. “Fisher’s was his kitchen,” she told me, since he doesn’t cook and basically lived off pub food (…honestly, same).
At the time, Phyllis was in another relationship. Romance wasn’t even on her radar.
But life has a funny way of shifting things. As that relationship came to an end, Craig and Phyllis started talking more. One day, he posted a photo on Facebook. It was a photo of him sitting on a motorcycle. Phyllis, who used to ride one herself, commented on Craig’s post. That small moment turned into messages back and forth… which then turned into a ride together down to Sandwich, MA… which then turned into dinner, drinks, and hours of conversation that neither of them wanted to end.
Then came the hug goodbye.
And that quiet, unexpected feeling.
“Oh wow,” she thought. “I think I kinda like this guy…”
At-home engagement sessions are alwaysss a yes
When your love story is rooted in; your space, your animals, your land, your everyday rhythm… there’s something really special about honoring that. This Middleboro engagement session felt exactly like who they are. Western-inspired outfits. Horses hanging out in the background. Shilo and Montana (their dogs) trotting along with us. A golden hour that hit just right across the fields. We didn’t need anything extra. The meaning was already there.
We wandered, we laughed, we paused for little moments that didn’t need direction. This is what I love most about documentary-style engagement photography, capturing real connection without forcing anything.
A moment I’ll remember
There was this quiet second where they were leaning against the fence, the sun soft behind them, their horses right beside us. And it just… felt still. Like nothing else in the world mattered except the two of them and the life they’ve built here.
That’s the thing with at-home engagement sessions. They give you space to just be. There’s no rush, no performative energy, no pressure to be anything but yourselves.
Why they hired me
Phyllis first reached out after seeing photos I’d taken for a coworker’s wedding. She told me the images really “melted” her heart, and that’s always the best kind of feedback to receive. My goal is never just to take photos that look good. It’s to create photos that make you feel something.
Their words (cue my happy tears)
“Craig and I had a lunch date and were able to look at all the pictures together. We are so in love with all of them and cannot wait to share them with our friends and family! The trouble is neither one of us can figure out which ones are our favorites. They are all so wonderful and capture ‘us’. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for spending the time and sharing your talent. We are grateful to have you as our photographer. We cannot wait for the wedding!” — Phyllis + Craig
Thinking of doing your engagement session from the comfort of your own home?
Whether you’ve got a farm, a backyard, or a quiet spot that you love to call yours, your story deserves to be told in a way that feels honest and grounded.
If you’re planning a backyard wedding in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, looking for an engagement photographer, or dreaming up something simple and meaningful, I’d be so honored to document it all.
