Are you planning an engagement session in Philadelphia?  Choosing a place for an engagement session can be a daunting task. Some people like city parks or urban architecture while other people like plants and trees. Luckily, Philadelphia has a wide range of locations available for beautiful engagement pictures. Wissahickon Creek is most famous for its 50 miles of rugged trails carved through the distinct Wissahickon schist bedrock.  You will see in some of the pictures below examples of the beautiful rock formations and how we incorporated them into the couple’s engagement pictures.

The Wissahickon Valley is first known as the tribal place of the Lenni Lenape.  During the 1800s, various mills were established along its banks during the Industrial Revolution. Now, Fairmount Park owns 1800 acres in the Wissahickon Valley which preserves the purity of the city’s water supply.  Wissahickon Creek means stream of yellow color or catfish creek in the Lenape language.

One prominent first of the area was the establishment of the first paper mill in America on Monoshone Creek, a tributary to the Wissahickon in 1690.  Philadelphia continued to be the nation’s primary papermaking area through the early 19th century.

Some popular landmarks include the Covered Bridge, Cedars House, Climber’s Rock, and Devil’s Pool. Devil’s Pool, near the mouth of the Cresheim Creek, is a popular area for swimming and lounging, however, it is not legal due to high levels of pollutants in the water. During our shoot, we explored the lands and features near the Forbidden Drive Upper Parking Lot, which provides easy roadside access and a paved parking lot for visitors. Cavit emptor, make sure to have some sturdy walking shoes for the shoot itself and some bug spray will be helpful in keeping the mosquitos away. Also, the area is known for ticks so be sure to shower and check for ticks when you get home. Finally, be prepared to possibly get wet during the shoot. Yes, as you will see, some of the shots from today were literally taken in the middle of the creek.  One misstep and you may be ankle-deep in water.

Without further ado, I give you the Wissahickon Creek Engagement Shoot of Taylor and Danny.

Taylor and Danny, quintessential nerds, met in a Statistics class during their Master’s program.  As statistics would prove, Taylor began spending much more time with Danny than all the other boys, making him a clear outlier. Finally, she had to face it…Danny was her statically significant other.

The two have a great love of the outdoors, as evidenced by the romantic way Danny proposed.  Per Taylor, “Danny had a picnic set up on Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California. As the sun started to set he got down on one knee and popped the question!!”

From the Photographer: I first met Taylor and Danny during the yearly bridal expo at the PA Convention Center. Taylor and Danny were one of our lucky engagement session winners and we set out to plan a beautiful engagement session with them at Wissahickon Park. They had a genuine joie de vivre and I wanted to capture that during their session. I use a combination of editorial realism and persistence to catch authentic moments throughout the shoot. I set the scene, but then let moments unfold around me to capture genuine emotion.  So many times during the shoot I heard Danny whisper, “I love you so much.” and while I was flattered, I think it was meant for his beautiful bride to be. I wanted to capture those in-between moments, those interactions and corresponding reactions to such tender words to give them a set of enduring photos they will cherish and remember for many years.  I hope these images adorn their walls and they look at them many years from now and remember this special time in their lives.

What do you love most about your partner?