After a chance meeting out one night with friends, Stephen said he couldn’t get Jessica out of his mind. So he did what any guy would do, circa 2005: He found her on MySpace. And he loved what he learned about her as they connected online. Then, after repeated requests, he got Jessica to agree to a date with him. What Stephen found out about her on that date convinced him that she was the real deal. She was sweet and fun and she hadn’t created some fake persona online, Stephen said. Well, except the part about surfing, he teased.

“I owned a surfboard, and I had a picture of myself with my surfboard. I didn’t say I surfed,” Jessica countered, just as teasingly.

That date led to a relationship — which, eight years later, has brought them a two-year-old daughter and is leading to a wedding this September. It also led to the most beautiful evening in New Smyrna last week for their engagement portraits. Jessica and Stephen spend a good bit of their spare time at the beach, and Stephen spends his work hours at the beach too, as both a lifeguard and a member of the Coast Guard. So it only made sense to shoot at Smyrna Dunes Park, where we started with a few family pictures (see their slideshow to catch those!) and then ventured off along the boardwalks, just the two of them.These two looked completely in their element. And like perhaps they could fall back on careers in modeling, you know, just in case the Coast Guard and education don’t pan out.You two! Jessica’s ring — it’s gorgeous, right? Well guess what. Stephen designed it himself. Nicely done!As the sun dipped low on the western horizon, we headed back to the beach to take in the sunset. It was the most incredible sunset I’ve seen in months. Oh, and in addition to the sunset, the beach, and the lighthouse, there was a sailboat and dolphins. In other words, it was truly the perfect evening.Stephen said this is his favorite time of day — and I couldn’t agree more.Even the dolphins had to come out to enjoy the spectacular evening.If you’d like to see even more, check out Jessica and Stephen’s slideshow.

Jessica and Stephen — we not only had a great time with you two, but we are so happy to have met the two of you, and we’re so excited to be a part of your wedding at Maison Jardin in September. We can’t wait!

~ Laura + Danny