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This Couple Did an NYC Engagement Shoot Before Their California Wedding

By Shayna Seid | Photography by 

Anée Atelier

Thao Ngo and Bonawyn Eison were both drafted on the same flag football team. “This wasn’t just any adult rec. league. This was Nike Football Society 3.0 (2014)!” she says. To keep focused on winning games (although, their ending record was 1-9), he waited until after after the season was over to ask Thao out. Three years of dating later, he proposed during a walk through lavender fields in Furano, Japan. And earlier this year, we covered their gorgeous California wedding.

We can’t get enough of this beautiful couple, and after seeing their engagement photos, we knew we had to share them with readers. Since, the two met and live in New York City, they decided to do a shoot there about a year-and-a-half after the proposal. “I wanted professional photos taken of the two of us before the wedding—before the white dress and tux shots,” Thao explains. “I also figured I needed some ‘digital collateral’—the photos were used for our save the dates, invitations, website, decor, etc.”

To deal with the freezing January temps in the city, the two chose The Eugene at Hudson Yards for their location, which had indoor and outdoor options. Thao wore a New Year’s Eve dress that “didn’t get any shine that holiday season,” and Bonawyn luckily had a gray suit that fit the color scheme perfectly.

On the day-of, the two met Anée Atelier, who flawlessly directed the couple, who admittedly didn’t know what to do in front of the camera. In a spontaneous moment, Thao practically re-created that iconic photo of Marilyn Monroe on top of the steel grate. “On the rooftop, a wind gust definitely hit me and my dress flew RIGHT UP in the middle of the shoot,” Thao says. “I’m pretty sure most of the shots on that roof were of me just trying to keep my dress down.”

Scroll through the images at the top of the page for a look into this breathtaking engagement shoot in New York City!