It was an absolutely perfect day for walking through the Rittenhouse neighborhood with a lovely couple when we arrived to capture Gabe & Manisha’s engagement session! Sunny and warm, the weather couldn’t have cooperated any better. Despite parking being more difficult than normal thanks to a film crew shooting over in Fitler Square, we met at Rittenhouse Square to start our session. In the words of Gabe, “I don’t know much about it other than Ron Weasley is one of the actors.”
For any who are unfamiliar, the Rittenhouse neighborhood is given its name by one of the five central squares that Philadelphia is built around. Ben Franklin initially designed the city to grow around these squares and placed one in each quadrant of the city as it stood at our nation’s birth. Franklin Square, Logan Square, Washington Square, and Rittenhouse Square, with City Hall counting as the fifth. Just a little Philly history for you.
Gabe and Manisha are very familiar with the Rittenhouse neighborhood as they’ve shared a home there for the last few years! They loved it so much, they wanted to make sure their engagement session was places they knew well and had made memories in. Rittenhouse Square park was quite busy on this beautiful day, but our favorite corner was clear and had some beautiful light to play with. Gabe and Manisha are such sweethearts, too! It was so easy to capture the love they have for one another and a pleasure to get to know them better ahead of their wedding in June.
From the Square, we meandered down Delancey Place. This wonderfully charming street epitomizes the beauty and grace of the Rittenhouse neighborhood. One thing that never ceases to amaze us about the city is how beautiful these homes are, despite not having a large yard. The perfectly manicured window boxes and potted plants made these homes seem even more gracious and inviting. Gabe and Manisha had fun day-dreaming that they owned one and we got some beautiful moments in this serene setting.
We did venture just outside of the Rittenhouse neighborhood to the South Street Bridge. Underneath this busy bridge runs part of the Schuykill River trail. This trail runs across a boardwalk that goes over the river itself and has a stunning view of the city. By their own admission, this is Gabe and Manisha’s favorite city view. And it’s easy to see why! After a few more portraits here, it was time for us to part ways until their wedding date was much closer. Though the waiting is difficult because their Rittenhouse neighborhood engagement session was such a blast!
