Engagement Photos

Max and I attended our first wedding celebration over the weekend - an engagement party hosted by our families and a few very sweet lifelong friends. We had SUCH a wonderful time with our families and wedding party all getting to know one another and are looking forward to all of the wedding celebrations ahead! I can't believe it's finally here!! With our engagement party over the weekend, and us nearing the 6 month countdown, it seemed like the perfect time to share the story of our engagement photo session with the wonderful Rachel and Noah Ray. 

Now, I’ve never been a believer in engagement photos (they always end up looking so forced and cheesy...) and Max and I had decided that we would use REAL photos that we already have, and avoid the engagement photos all together. Well, we soon realized that all of our real photos are selfies, or we have sunglasses on, or we’re in a group etc. So, when we met with Rachel and Noah to discuss our wedding day photography, they explained that not only are engagement pictures great to use for save the dates, they give you an opportunity to get comfortable with the cameras and figure out what works and doesn’t work, before the big day. They shared with us their documentary approach and focus on capturing real moments and not just the “pretty” ones and we knew we were in good hands. So, after making them promise not to make us share a cupcake, lay on the ground, or do the dramatic stare, we agreed on an engagement session.

We knew that we wanted these photos to really capture this special moment in our lives - in our neighborhood, our garden, and our home (see more on that here).  So, on a blistering hot July afternoon, Max and I put on our “engagement photo best” and tried to curb our awkwardness. We laughed and sweated and laughed some more. Rachel and Noah we’re wonderful – they made us so comfortable and assured us we looked great even when were our most awkward. Bruce was a natural in front of the camera and it turns out, we weren’t so bad either. I am so in love with these beautiful photos. They perfectly capture who we are and our life right now. We’ve gotten so many compliments from family and friends and have even been featured on a local wedding blog (see here). Thank you Rachel and Noah Ray – we can’t wait to have you capture our wedding day! 

A few lessons we learned:

Don't get engagement pictures made outside in the middle of July. What were we thinking?

Just go with it. The moments that felt the most awkward, ended up being some of my favorite shots.

Think it through beforehand. Max and I discussed the things we liked and didn't like, our ideas, and insecurities so that we knew what to do (and not do...) during the session. 

Know your photographers. Rachel and Noah really understood us and what we wanted and they made us feel comfortable, which is so important.

Just do it! I couldn't believe how excited I was to get our engagement photos back. For someone who didn't want to do them at all originally, I was so giddy and I couldn't be happier with how beautifully they turned out.

Photography by Rachel and Noah Ray | Locations: our loft in downtown Birmingham, What's on 2nd, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Morris Avenue, and the 24th Street Bridge.