I can’t even begin to describe to you how out of this world this South Island New Zealand engagement session was. Truthfully? Halie + Alec are already married and they were on their honeymoon. But why not do a couples session and even another engagement session if you want to call it that? I like love stories instead. I feel that’s what they are, honestly. Halie + Alec are two other awesome photographers based out of Georgia. After getting to know them, I swear they are another version of Josh and I. Especially when we still photographed together so needless to say, it was a blast photographing them in the wee hours in the morning and by wee I mean 5:30AM after getting maybe 4 hours of sleep in a camper van. (Shout out my our lovely Escape Camper Van that we rented that makes an appearance towards the end of this post.) We decided last minute to drive out around 10pm the night before with pizza in tow to a freedom camping spot just outside where we wanted to shoot. Halie + Alec hadn’t seen the location but through pictures that I and my trusty companion and photographer friend, Addie shared with them. Wake up was brutal and I almost called it off because of the heavy cloud coverage but last second I woke everyone up and we drove another 15 minutes out to the dried river bed that Addie and I scouted a few days prior. There is something magical about watching the sunrise in New Zealand surround by mountains covered by glaciers with your friends. I only wish we somehow turned some music on. The sunrise is so many different colors over the course of 30 minutes. It just sums of so much of my trip there this winter (their summer). I’m so glad not only that the four of us experienced this together but that I got to document it for them. These two are so in love, it’s crazy.

I can’t wait to share my other photos from New Zealand. It was a trip that changed my life and how I see the world. It also changed the way I want to live my life at home. I’ve never felt so free in my entire life. It’s something I’ll never forget. Someday I’ll be back and I’m hoping it’s sooner rather than later. *Hint* the next retreat I’m hosting, 2018. Stay tuned for amazingness. (Think adventure, camper vans and breathtaking scenery every turn you make.) Ready?

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Ended pretty abruptly right? No worried. Stay tuned for part II.

South Island New Zealand Engagement Session by
Destination Wedding Photographer Megan Saul