These playful engagement photos with Marisa and Kevin started with a dog trainer from upstate New York… whose wife… whose aunt… somehow knew them. And that’s how they found me. I love a good referral story, but this one is elite. I’ve learned to trust referrals like this. The more random they are, the more they tend to land me with the best kind of people.
That was Marisa and Kevin immediately. From the start, they were warm, easygoing, and very “let’s just have fun with this.” I could tell right away this session wasn’t going to be about posing and perfection. It was going to be a little messy, spontaneous, and probably involve a lot of laughing moments.
Playful Engagement Photos Meet a Chilly Boreas Pass Backdrop
Going into this, Marisa had a very clear vision. She told me she wanted that true winter mountain feel: fresh snow, pine trees dusted in white, cozy layers, soft textures, and if we could magically get snow falling, even better. Boreas Pass did a good job. It was chilly, but that crisp mountain air and quiet snow-covered landscape made everything feel peaceful.
But what I loved most was that they played. They ran around, fell into the snow, made snow angels, got completely covered in it, and just leaned into whatever the moment gave them. That’s where the good stuff always happens. You get all of the genuine expressions. The mix of cozy and chaos is the sweet spot.
From Long Island Drives to a Mountain Engagement Session in Colorado
These two met through Marisa’s best friend (who worked with Kevin), and what started at a holiday party in December 2023 pretty quickly turned into something. From there, it was weekly drives back and forth—Babylon, NY to Brewster, NY—which, if you know anything about that route, you know it’s never just an hour and a half. There’s always traffic. And they still did it every single week. Eventually, they met in the middle and moved to Stamford, CT. It was a solid compromise between Long Island and “the sticks,” as Marisa put it.
During the proposal, her best friend got lost at the arboretum where Kevin was waiting. He ended up running out of the woods to find them. “Club Husband” by T-Pain is playing in the background, and Marisa had to stop him mid-speech because she already knew her answer. Easiest yes ever. These are two people who have built something really solid, and who don’t take themselves too seriously. Getting to photograph that in a place like this was the best.
