Their Engagement Session – The Appalachian Trail Engagement session at the Boardwalk and Stairway to Heaven.

Lindsay and Rob’s engagement session was SO MUCH FUN! During our meeting for their wedding plans they told me that they enjoy long walks and hikes with their dog. ( I’m still getting over the fact that they didn’t bring their pup Lorelei to their session) It was only natural that we would meet up at the Appalachian Trail Engagement session at the boardwalk and stairway to heaven trails in Sussex County NJ. It’s such a beautiful and unique spot! Lindsay and Rob were troopers, waking up before the sun to get to the boardwalk just as it was coming up over the marsh. We had the chance to stroll all the way out to the bridge and back with hardly a soul around! In my opinion, that alone is worth the early wake up call!

How they met

Lindsay and Rob’s meeting is one of those things that make you say ” everything happens for a reason”.

Lindsay and Rob met in college at Penn State. Rob’s group of guy friends and Lindsay’s girl friends hung out together a lot and lived down the street from each other. His roommate had a huge crush on her best friend and asked her to be his beer pong partner. That left Lindsay partner-less, so she asked Rob to be her partner. They were “just friends” for a little while, but all of their friends joked that they would end up being more than “just friends” and now here they are 8 years later planning their wedding! Rob’s roommate and Lindsay’s friend didn’t ever end up dating , but they are both in the wedding party!

The Proposal

The plan was always to wait to get engaged/married until after Rob graduated law school. They were planning a big Euro-trip for after his graduation in June 2020 and Lindsay always assumed it would happen then. When COVID hit, plans got rearranged and the trip got cancelled. They were living in Texas and hadn’t seen either of their families since December 2019. They knew They’d be moving back East around December, and Rob had Lindsay convinced it wasn’t going to happen until they were back with their families again.

Then, one random Friday night in August Lindsay and Rob made plans to “get dinner with a friend.” Rob had the friend call and say he was going to be late and convinced Lindsay to take a detour to a spot on the river to pass the time while they “waited for him.” It was 106 degrees outside and Lindsay didn’t really want to go for a walk before dinner, but they did anyway. Rob had a hidden photographer and a bottle of champagne waiting on the boardwalk around the river. After he popped the question, they Face-timed both their families and a ton of friends.

Lindsay’s dad knew it was going to happen and kept it a secret from her mom and sisters. He did invite Lindsay’s sisters over for dinner so they would all be together when Lindsay called to share the news! Rob swears to this day that Lindsay saw the ring box in his pocket (“I swear I did not see it!!”) and was most nervous that he accidentally ruined the surprise before they even got to the spot!

Their favorite date night?

Lindsay told the story of their favorite date night, and I think it’s the best representation of them as a couple! Fun and very easy going! Here’s what she said about their most memorable date yet!:

“One of our favorite date nights was a random night we decided to buy tickets to the Austin ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker because they were only like 10 bucks and neither of us had ever been to a ballet. We had the worst seats in the theater, but spent a majority of the time laughing about how we couldn’t see anything because the dancer’s looked so small. We got a lot of wine and popcorn from the concession stand and had a great night.”

Lindsay and Rob

Thank you so much for such a fun morning together at your Appalachian Boardwalk engagement session, and over at the Stairway to Heaven trail! Even with me dropping my phone in the water, it was an amazing day! I am so looking forward to your September 2022 wedding at Grand Cascades at Crystal Springs Resort!! It’s going to be the most amazing wedding day!

xx, Ashley

If you loved this session and want to save it to your Pinterest wedding inspo boards, save the collage image below!

Looking for more New Jersey Engagement session ideas?!

You may like Meg and Mike’s NJ Botanical Gardens Engagement

or Charlotte and Ben’s High Point State Park Engagement

Ashley is a Northern NJ Sussex County wedding and engagement photographer for fun and adventurous couples who love to get outside and adventure!