Back in late summer, Caitie, Brett and I scheduled their engagement session for a nice mid September evening on the beach. The only problem was as their date was approaching, so was a tropical storm.

We watched the weather as the day grew closer and even the morning of their scheduled shoot we still weren’t sure. I was watching NOAA radar and four weather apps thinking we might be able to shift the time, if needed. Tropical Storm Nicholas hadn’t made landfall yet, but was growing by the minute and causing bands of thunderstorms. We decided we’d make the call either way by 2pm.

As the hour approached it appeared that the rain bands would break at the exact hour of our scheduled time. We decided to go for it. It would be cloudy and we might catch a momentary drizzle, but I packed umbrellas just in case.

When we arrived there were a few drops here and there so we started under a pavilion. The sky was a moody gray. The temperature had dropped, which was a hugely positive side effect. It was humid but much cooler than a typical September day so it was vastly more comfortable!

The beach was more crowded than I had seen in awhile as people ventured out for fresh air before they’d have to hunker down for the storm. We walked along the beach, watched the birds, and enjoyed the ocean breeze. Caitie and Brett practiced the first dance for their wedding and dipped their toes into the water.

A few minutes before official sunset the clouds over the Gulf started to get thick and dark. The rain bands were coming back around so we headed back towards the village. The street lamps were just coming on as we passed back through the pavilion. It was getting dark fast, but when we reached the town center, we were greeted with an INSANE SUNSET!!!

After some quick goodbyes we headed to our cars and within minutes the rain had started again. Luckily we were all able to get off the island before the storms worsened and the following day Tropical Storm Nicholas had been upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.

Caitie and Brett were so cool to be with. Even during a tropical storm they were so relaxed and happy to go with the flow! I think they might actually be unicorns. 😂

Check out this non-hurricane beach engagement session. Check out these other awesome locations for your Galveston engagement session.