Their Session: Island Beach State Park Engagement Session

I had been dreaming of getting to do an Island Beach State Park engagement session. Katy and Tom made that dream come true! For those of you that have never been to Island Beach State Park its one of New Jersey’s hidden gems. I swear it feels like entering a different world when you drive through the gates. The long straight road gives a certain vibe that you can’t find anywhere else in New Jersey. While the sand dunes give as close to a California vibe as we could get over here on the east coast. The beach stretches on for miles, giving us plenty of space to work with! Katy and Tom wanted to do an Island Beach State park engagement session because it felt different to any other beach they saw. Katy and Tom are parents to their one year old son Luke and pup parents to their dog Ottis, both of which they wanted to include in a few photos at the end. “We wanted to make most of the session about us.” Katy shared with me. Which as a parent I feel is very hard to do and I absolutely loved that. We were joined by Katy’s Aunt Jen and sister Kelly who would keep an eye on the little ones when they were not needed. We had the entire beach to ourselves and got to end their Island Beach State Park engagement session with this beautiful pink sunset. It was an absolute dream!

Their Story

Katy was on vacation with her friends Kirsten and Shaday in July 2011. They stayed at Katy’s parent’s timeshare in Orlando. Katy’s friend had a friend, Tom, going to school at Full Sail University. They saw Tom’s Facebook post looking for people to hang out in the area and realized it was not far from where they were staying, so she invited Tom over to the timeshare. Tom came over with his cousin and they all hung out and did what normal college-aged kids do, play beer pong and drinking games. Towards the end Katy gave Tom her number so he could text her when he got home safe. From then on Katy and Tom started texting every day. Tom came home to Jersey for a weekend in October where he took Katy on their first date and that same weekend asked her to be his girlfriend! Now here they are today, 10 years later, in their own home, their son Luke and their dog Otis. “FINALLY, ready to get married and celebrate!”

The Proposal

Tom and Katy got engaged on December 23rd, 2021, so they could share the news on Christmas Eve with Katy’s family as that is their biggest gathering all year. Tom was taking care of Luke when in the afternoon he knew it was just the right moment. Katy was cooking so Tom took Luke in his right arm, the ring box in the other, and proposed right then and there! They called their immediate family to share the news since it was an exciting time and during Christmas Eve, Katy took Luke into the living room and showed the entire family her ring.

Katy and Tom

You guys were so much fun to work with! Thank you for introducing me to your family members and inviting me along this amazing journey. Next stop, your wedding day at the Mansion at Mountain Lakes!!

Not a beach lover? Then check out Marissa and TJ’s Jersey City engagement session!