Engagement Photo...lessons

Our engagement photos arrived!  And we are super happy with the results.  Neil and Steph from Stem Photography did an amazing job capturing natural photos of Derek and I, while really letting our love shine through.  

I mentioned before that I never actually planned on having engagement photos taken until I learned they were part of our photography package.  Since then I did some research on some of the pros of having engagement photos taken (which you can read about here), and I have to say - I definitely agree.  

Participating in a photo shoot was a learning experience.  Planning our outfits, making and organizing props, deciding on locations and pinning favourite poses took some work.  I'm really happy I did my research, but even still, I definitely learned a few things through our experience.

But before we get to lessons learned, let's take a look at a few of my favourite photos shall we?!

I have to give it to our photographers.  They were so enthusiastic during the shoot and actually spent over 3 hours with us.  They trekked around to 3 different locations and waited patiently while we went through our wardrobe change.  The end result was 170 beautifully edited photos which we love.  

Through the experience, here are some lessons I learned:

Lesson #1: Love your photographer


Like I mentioned, we spent over 3 hours with Steph and Neil.  Can you imagine if we didn't jive with each other?  I think the most important thing is to get along with your photographer.  They were in our face, putting us in awkward positions and doing their best to make us laugh (which they did!) all while trying to get “the perfect shot”.  We ended up having a really great time and the 3 hours flew by!  Had we not gotten along so well I’m sure it would have dragged and we wouldn’t have spent as much time on our shoot, which would have resulted in fewer photos and maybe more uncomfortable and less genuine smiles.  

Lesson #2(a): Plan your outfit(s)

I put a lot of thought into what Derek and I would be wearing.  It was fun for me to check out other engagement photos to see how couples had matched and played with colour and pattern.  A few nights before our shoot, I laid our outfits on the bed beside each other to make sure the clothing matched.  The night before our shoot I tried on my outfits just to settle any uncertainties.  Since our shoot began at 10am, and I really wanted to have a relaxing morning with lots of time to get ready before heading out, I did all I could so as not to have any last minute melt downs (yes, sometimes I act like a 2 year old if my outfit isn't working).  Having our outfits planned ahead of time made the morning flow much nicer.

Lesson #2(b): Move around in your outfit(s)

One thing I didn’t anticipate was the positions we would be getting into while having our photos taken.  The clothing you wear should not only look great, but be comfortable and easy to move around in.  Clothing can look one way when you are leaning against a tree or sitting pretty but it may be a whole different story once you get moving and/or laying on the ground - things shift!  Here are a couple photos which I really love, however as you can see my bra strap is showing in one and my cleavage is just a little too present in the other.  First of all, I don’t know why I didn’t wear a black bra, which would have half solved problem number 1.  Secondly, I know now to move around the clothing I plan on wearing to see how they shift and change.

Lesson #3: Beware of patterned clothing

Through my research I learned that bold, lettered or patterned clothing is not ideal for photos because it takes away from the subject.  I tend to agree, however there are always exceptions to the rule, and I saw some lovely floral patterned dresses and bold striped shirts that looked great!  I love Derek’s slim fit black and white check shirt, so it made the cut immediately.  In most of the photos his shirt looks great, however in a few the check pattern went a little wonky, like you can see below.  Definitely watch out for that, and if you are unsure go with a solid, which always looks classic.

Wondering how my props turned out?  Take a look!  I'm super happy with the outcome and feel they added some personality and playfulness to the photos.

Not too bad, right?

The next step is choosing our favourite photo to use on our Save the Date post cards!  I must stay it feels good to check things off the wedding to-do list!

Engagement shoot props

Now that I am pretty certain about what we will wear for our engagement photos (who am I kidding, I'll probably be going nuts Saturday morning screaming obscenities and how I have absolutely NOTHING to wear!)

Just kidding.  Or not.  Let's hope that doesn't happen and that I have a GREAT hair day!

Ok, now that we hopefully have our outfits planned, I can tell you all about our props!

First, here are some engagement and save-the-date photos that inspired me.  If you have the time to follow the source links to view each couple's full album, I would highly recommend it - they are all fabulous.  

I love this couple's style.  Crisp and classic in black and white yet still so relaxed and comfortable.  This photo makes it seem as though they brought their chalkboard prop to use, but just kind of forgot about it and let it hang since they are just so in madly in love.  And who doesn't love a forehead kiss?

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I love the numbers strung upon twine for this couple's save-the-date shot.  The colour of the photo is beautiful and the pops of yellow are so happy.  I think it's sort of neat how you can't see their faces - it really highlights their adorable outfits and the date.  

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This embrace is so nice - also interesting that even though you can't see their facial expressions, you can still feel the love between the couple.

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There are so many details I love about this next photo.  First of all, the colour and style of her dress is fabulous (and the shoes!)  Their romantic dip kiss.  The background.  And I love the wording on the sign.  "She said yes!" is just so cute to me!

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This good looking couple got dressed up and took engagement photos in their future home, and I think it looks great.  This is what inspired my idea to go to our condo site.  Even though we won't be able to get up inside our unit, I think being at ground level and having our building in behind us will give the same effect.

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This couple spent the day with their photographer walking around NYC and it looks like they had such a blast (while wearing cute outfits!)  Serene pictures by parks and lakes are beautiful, but these photos, in the bustling city, are so full of life.  It's fun to see everything going on around the couple (imagine the noise level), but they are completely caught in each others eyes.  Ugh - so romantic.

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I couldn't love this photo any more.  Is it not the cutest you have ever seen?  Someone please use this idea!!!

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And here is the adorable (and creative) couple who made it happen.

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Chalk is big these days, and this couple took it to the next level.  Pretty fun, no?

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Onto my plans.  I really wanted to do this with our New Year's Eve Date of 12-31-12 in gold or silver, but everywhere I went didn't have the numbers I needed!  

After searching my third store I gave up (maybe I didn't want it bad enough slash I kind of dislike shopping sometimes).  Yes, a side note here: sometimes I hate it!  I have to be prepared.  As in - well fed, comfortable, organized, and alone (or with my mom or a maximum of one friend who is on the same page as me and likes the same stores as I do).  Other than that it's a no-go.

Since I couldn't find my numbers I improvised!  Here's what I created:

I purchased the letters which were natural wood and painted them.  WE DO is a metallic gold and LOVE is high gloss red.   

I used a glue gun to glue the letters to ribbon.  WE DO hangs from a black and gold rope/cord type ribbon and LOVE is hanging from a natural looking burlap material ribbon.

I really love the way they turned out.  I never do crafts, but totally enjoy them, so this was my idea of an awesome time.  The cost of my craft came to about $40.  Each letter was $3, the paint was $4 each and the ribbon was also $4 each.  I realize this is not the thriftiest craft.  I wasn't really paying attention to the price of things and was a little caught off guard when I got to the cash.

BUT!  I now have lots of beautiful leftover ribbon, my first two paints that I can use for future crafts (!!!) AND I am planning on using these in our wedding ceremony/reception décor.  So I think it was money well spent.  I probably could have saved $10 or so by going to the Dollar Store instead of Michael's, but I didn't think about that.

I also purchased this cute little heart shaped chalkboard (and white chalk) that hangs from twine.  It was about $5 for both, also from Michael's (I even used a coupon!)  I figure we can play around with the wording we put on it.  I think it would look cute hanging on a tree with an M+D or something.

Whatever we do, I will keep you posted and share our photos back here.  

The plan is to use one of the photos to create a save-the-date post card to send to our guests in the mail.  The postcard will have some information but the main purpose will be to direct everyone to our wedding website where they will find aaaallll the details and even RSVP to the wedding.  We are not sending out an official paper invite.  

So far I am liking this postcard style from Wedding Paper Genie, a store on Etsy.  

I like the fact that there is a calendar on the back, the front isn't too busy and you can totally customize it with your own colours.

Has anyone else gone this route?  Using props at their photo shoot to create a save-the-date postcard?  I'm slightly nervous about the wedding website, but I'm crossing my fingers it will work!  Obviously I'll keep you posted!

And one more picture - just to keep things real.  Here's what my LOVE sign looked like the first time I put it together.  Derek was like "Uuuhhhhh......"  

I think he might be scared to have children with me and my dyslexic poor spelling genes.

Engagement shoot styling

The countdown is on to our engagement photos this Saturday.  How exciting!  Probably more so for me, especially since I told Derek he must try to limit the sodium in his diet this week so he doesn't look "puffy".

His response..."Definitely - we don't want no puff daddy in our pics." 

A detail you may not have known about my fiancé - sometimes he's gangster.  

Originally, we decided not to do engagement photos.  I didn't really see the point, and we already have quite a few couple photos.  But then our photographers, Steph and Neil from Stem Photography, told us that it is included in our picture package - pretty standard, we now realize - and so we got pumped about it!

If you are considering engagement photos, here are the reasons we decided to go for it:

• they allow you and your photographer(s) to get to know each other, making your wedding day more comfortable
• you will be able to practice poses and all the different facial expressions required for your shoot
• after seeing your photos you will get a better sense of your photographer's style and way of shooting
• you will see many pictures of yourself from all different angles, helping to remind and motivate yourself to keep doing your lunges or arm/shoulder exercises
• you get to spend a couple hours with your honey, all dressed up, kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other, looking cute as buttons!

We have also decided to take advantage of these pictures and use them for our save-the-date postcards.  

More to come on my save-the-date ideas.  For now, here's what I've been thinking about for our outfits...

I would like for us to wear two outfits, which means one wardrobe change, which makes me feel a little high maintenance...but since these are my engagement photos I'm going to take advantage of my bride status and just go with it.

Outfit Number 1

-black dress 

-yellow, black and white peep toes 

-gold necklace

I put this set together through Polyvore, and although none of the pieces are exactly what I'm wearing, it gives you a visual.  Pretty standard "Meaghan look".

  

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While I'm wearing my more dressy outfit, I would like to see Derek in 

-charcoal dress pants

-black gingham shirt

-slim fitting black suit jacket

I was thinking of doing a tie, but I can't decide.  I think the more casual unbuttoned look is pretty sexy.  

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Outfit Number 2

-blue and green colour block silk T (the one below isn't it, but it's the same idea)

-black dress capris

-tall gray heels (mine are suede and leather, and don't have a platform like the ones below)

-gold accessories 

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I like the look of gold accents with the blue and green (doesn't the colour combo look great on those earrings?!), so I'm going to do some shopping for fun jewellery this week.  

Or better yet...

**Calling all Ottawa friends - if you would like to lend me any jewellery, that works too!**

I love both of these inspiration looks, so I'm thinking for Derek

-brown leather shoes

-dark jeans

-white or light dress shirt 

-gray blazer 

-maybe or maybe not a tie?
-and glasses!  Derek will definitely need to wear his glasses for a few pics!

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I have a few ideas for where we can take pictures, but since I already feel high maintenance with my wardrobe change, I don't want to make my photographers drive all over the city!

Here are my ideas

• Stanley Park, by the river - one of our favourite parks.  We have enjoyed outdoor theatre and a few good picnics in this park.  It's also one part of our favourite running rout. 
• Outside our new condo.  I thought it would be really neat to incorporate our new home into our photos.  The area is still somewhat a construction zone, but I think that might look pretty cool.
• The ARC Lounge.  I would love to have some sexy photos taken at their bar and in the lobby of our wedding venue.
• Since its prime time for the tulips, we will most likely take advantage of their beautiful colours.

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Does anyone have any tips or suggestions when it comes to engagement photos?  

I haven't made any plans for the Friday night before our shoot so that I can do some pampering and ensure I'm well rested.  

I will make sure to bring comfortable shoes that I can easily slip on if we end up walking for miles.

I am also planning on bringing a few props, some specifically for our save-the-date.  I think I'll write another post about that, along with some of my favourite pictures I've come across online.

Oh yes - please help.  Tie or no tie?  And if you have some lovely jewels you would like to toss delicately pass my way, I would love you forever!