Who doesn’t want to celebrate their engagement with tater tots and a Slush?
Julie McCutcheon and Justin Burgoon met, worked together and fell in love at a Sonic in New Jersey, so when the young couple got engaged, it seemed only natural to document the happy occasion at a locale that played such an important role in their relationship.
The idea to take the engagement pictures at Sonic actually came from the couple’s photographer, Jeffrey M. Sabotta, who was inspired to incorporate the fast-food establishment into the photos after having a two-hour conversation with the pair.
“They told me they met at a Sonic,” Sabotta tells Us Weekly. “They told me it was kind of over the love of tater tots … I suggested that we should incorporate that in their engagement session. They loved the idea and were totally on board.”
For Sabotta and his engaged clients, taking the photos at Sonic was less about being gimmicky and more about capturing the true spirit of their relationship. “It was important to me to have a location that was a connection to them both,” he explains of the 45-minute shoot. “Since that is where they met, worked together and fell in love, it made sense to me.”
And even though Sabotta knows Sonic isn’t exactly a “normal” location for an engagement session, he suspects the unique locale is part of the reason why the photos are so appealing to others. As he put it, “It is so different … This place was part of their story.”
As the photos suggest, the shoot was full of fun, laughter and plenty of tater tots! “It was a fun afternoon,” Sabotta adds, noting the couple “loves” the pictures. “These two shined in the weird and goofy and I am so excited for them.”
When McCutcheon and Burgoon tie the knot in June 2019, Sabotta says, “I assume Sonic items will be present.”
