Est. 2012 | Colorado Springs, Colorado and Charlottesville, Virginia wedding & family photographer

To enjoy the beach (if you live in Virginia) might mean driving to Virginia Beach, OBX, Myrtle Beach, or Delaware (all popular choices). But one of my favorite beaches is Chincoteague (Assateague) Island in Virginia, and I loved that James and Claire wanted their portraits there! When I was younger, my Girl Scout troop would take us to the island to see the infamous wild horses. When I was in my college years, I went on summer vacations. Now that I’m in Colorado, I don’t get to see the beach too often, so this was a great excuse to sink my toes into the sand. 🙂 The small coastal town is so quaint and a great spot for vacationing and beach photos — Because it’s not commercialized, it wasn’t a problem for us to find a little private spot for James and Claire’s photos. 🙂 Always a photography perk!

James and Claire were so cute during their beach portraits. They love having picnics together, so they brought an assortment of goodies and drinks to enjoy during our time together. Even after I left the beach, they were still enjoying themselves, which is something my marriage believes in — Never stop dating each other. 🙂 It was an unexpectedly chilly day because of the overcast weather and the natural beach breeze. But it didn’t stop us from taking these sweet beach portraits!

In Vietnamese culture, James and Claire wanted “Pre-Wedding” portraits which are a little different from engagement portraits — Because they planned to wear their traditional gowns. In addition to these east coast beach photos, they flew out to Colorado for mountain photos with more formal outfits. But that will be for another blog post because it was epic! 🙂

Pre-Wedding Beach Portraits on Chincoteague Island, Virginia

Thank You!!!

Thank you, James and Claire, for bearing through the wind and the chilly temps. 🙂 It meant for cozier photos which were easy to achieve with you two!

Stephanie Messick Photography, LLC is a Colorado Springs, Colorado Wedding, Engagement, Maternity, + Family Photographer, also serving Northern + Central Virginia. Learn more HERE or contact her HERE!