I am so excited to finally share this awesome engagement session between Aliviya and Jordan! These two absolutely rocked their session! I LOVE that they took it up a notch with the formal attire. As always the Knoxville Botanical Gardens didn't disappoint. Give these guys some love!
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engagement portraits
You've found a photographer and signed up for an engagement session! Hooray! Now what? Where to go? And most importantly...what do you wear? Gone are the days of overly matchy outfits and in are subtle color palettes. Here are a few tips on what to wear to get you inspired.
Many of these tips can be applied not only for engagement sessions but any type of portrait session.
- Color Choice
Go for colors in a similar palette with pops of different colors. I love Blake and Jodi's colors from their fall engagement session. They choose from colors from that time of year with browns, oranges, cream, and navy. Later they had reds, cream, and more blue with Jodi wearing a plaid shirt dress. Keep your colors seasonal!
- Keep the Colors Subtle
Gone are the days where everyone wore matching blue shirts and jeans for family or engagement portraits. I love a variety of colors and textures that are pulled together by one theme. See the example below from the Smith's family portraits (it's easier to see the subtlety in a bigger group).
- Flowers Aren't Just For Your Wedding Day Your engagement session is a great opportunity to test run some of your potential vendors including your florist! I love a beautiful bouquet, a dreamy flower crown, or small flower hair piece to take a session to the next level. This is also a great opportunity to try out your make up artist and hair stylist.
Don't be Afraid to Get Flirty or Formal
One of the great aspects of an engagement session is you can have a couple different moods just by bringing a change in attire. I love for my clients to have a casual and a formal look. I think it adds a little romance for the girls to have a skirt or dress. Make a date night out of it! Have your last outfit be a beautiful dress and the Groom to Be in a casual suit. Finish up your session and then go out on the town!
Most of all communicate with your photographer! I am here to help my clients dream up their perfect engagement sessions. I love working on details with clients. I often share pinterest boards, talk about locations that are special to them, and even pick out outfits over the phone. I want you to look and feel your best on the first step to celebrating the two of you!
Fall colors, woods, a pond, pumpkins, and a family owned farm...what's not to love about this engagement session? Early in October I headed over to Anderson County to Jodi's family farm for an afternoon of fun photos.
I knew after our first meeting, that Jodi and I were going to hit it off. Jodi is sweet and makes everyone around her comfortable. So when the time came, the day of the shoot, to meet Blake I knew he would be the same. Blake has a contagious smile and between these two we just kept laughing all day.
I loved that these two chose to be adventurous and get out on the pond in the boat. Even if it did have a small (tiny), leak in it. The whole day they were up for anything which is exactly what a photographer wants.
You can tell that family, history and heritage are all very important to both Jodi and Blake. Not only did we shoot on the family farm but Blake's family showed up to help out and Jodi's Mom provided a lot of the cute props. Blake plays in a bluegrass band and you can just tell with both of them that the area is very important to them.
Jodi and Blake I cannot wait to photograph your wedding next July! Thanks for being up for anything, even some of the off the wall things I asked you to do. I felt so comfortable with you both. Your love and respect for each other is apparent in every photo and I can't wait to experience that 100 fold on your wedding day!
One of my favorite parts of being a photographer is getting to share in those intimate and epic moments in my clients lives. Moments like the birth of a child, their first kiss as husband and wife, the anticipation of a new child, or in this case, the moment they decide to spend the rest of their lives together.
I was absolutely thrilled when Jacob contacted me and asked me to take part in his proposal to Morgan. I had done Senior Portraits for Jacob's sister Claire last summer and been able to get to know the family better. Jacob had everything planned weeks in advance, so all we had to do was set up, and wait for the big moment.
Jacob wanted to propose at a quarry outside of Oak Ridge that he and Morgan had often taken walks at. He ordered sunflowers, had a blanket by the water, and had lined the path with photos of them together throughout their relationship. It was perfect! I found a spot to hide and then just had to be patient, which was pretty hard.
The big moment arrived...
And it was like the whole world just got still for that short moment...
And then she said yes!
It was really a beautiful moment and one I know they will cherish for years and years. After a few moments for the reality to set in Morgan turns and goes, "What's that clicking noise?" I popped up like a total creeper from the woods and was like, "Hi! Congratulations!!" To my surprise, and relief, she was excited and took it all in stride. We then spent the rest of the afternoon reveling in their excitement and doing several engagement photos.
It was so much fun to do the engagement photos right then when emotions were high and everything was so exciting! Jacob and Morgan are so perfect for each other and compliment each other so well.
Jacob and Morgan congratulations! I loved getting to know you and your love story better. I can't wait to see where life takes you and the amazing time you are going to have together. Jacob, thank you for being a romantic and including me in a truly beautiful day. I'm so excited to get to know you both better.
As I woke up this morning and stumbled to my computer, grumbling something about coffee and the lack there of, my darling (also work at home) husband, Speed Racer was already at his lappy surfing the net. After I finally settled for some tea instead (there's just something about starting the day off with a hot drink, what can I say?) I sat down determined to do some work. As I sifted through the mass of emails in my inbox, my little gchat box popped up with a happy message from Speed Racer and the following link to LiveJournal.com, and as I looked, the following embarrassing phrase came out of my mouth, "OH MY GOD HOW CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!!" (Please do click on the cute link to see the post, you won't be sorry).
Wildflowers Photography shot an engagement session with a couple named, Lynette and James based on the movie "UP." And as the post states, most of us who have seen that movie cry every time, I know I do. The movie especially reminds me of my Grandfather, Chief Bald Eagle, who has been striving to live without my Grandmother, Pretty Brown Eyes, for several years now. Chief Bald Eagle was and is a huge hiker, the man still walks three miles a day and is 85 years old. He and Pretty Brown Eyes used to drive all over the U.S. including several trips to Canada and Alaska. He always tells the story of how when they got married, he looked into those deep brown eyes and swore that he would carry her to the ends of the earth. When they drove to the article circle, Pretty Browns Eyes swore that she had made it there. Their love and devotion is inspiring, and I think that's what "UP" shows all of us, that you can find adventure in the small, "boring", little things that you enjoy most about your partner.
As I write this I realize that it has officially been 11 months and 4 days since I married Speed Racer and each day has been better than the last. Sure, we have grand adventures planned as well, dreams that we carry in our coat pockets to keep us warm when everything else gets cold and hard. But it's the little adventures, the "boring" moments that I cherish most: the moonlit drives on the back roads of our home, where we were sweethearts; the way our hands still migrate towards each other when we're out, how he sends me links that he knows I will gush over, the warm silences when we walk together, and the sense that we have known that we were meant for each other since creation. Belonging, is the best word I can use.
It's this belonging that helps us appreciate the little things, the little things that make our love so strong. I know it's the little things that has kept Chief Bald Eagle in love with his Pretty Brown Eyes, so many years after she has gone. I know it's the little things that keep me falling in love with my husband daily. And I know that it's the little things that will keep Lynette and James together and in love.
Thanks to Wildflowers Photography and Lynette and James for sharing your story and photos with the world. Thanks, also for letting me gush, for making my day, for making me a tad jealous not only of the photos but that I didn't think to do my engagement pictures in the "UP" theme. And as for the readers, what are your "UP" stories? What are your adventures, your "boring" moments that will make our hearts ache? I want to hear each and every story, so please share.
