Wedding Wednesday #1 – The Engagement Shoot!

Oh my goodness you guys! I can’t believe our wedding is less than 6 months away, how crazy is that?! Planning has been so fun but also extremely stressful. I thought every so often, on a Wednesday, I would share my journey with you and some tips I learned along the way. I’m one of the first girls out of my group of friends to be getting married so I sometimes feel like the guinea pig. No one has any idea what we’re doing but we’re learning and I know it’ll all come together.

I absolutely had to share my engagement photo shoot with ya’ll as I had an amazing experience and beautiful photos to hold onto for the rest of my life. We chose to take these photos in the beginning of October when the leaves were starting to change color. When picking a photographer it can be challenging. You really need to checkout their portfolios and ensure that their style is the style you want. I also think talking to them via email and phone helps out A LOT. You can get a sense of their character and how they would be to work with and trust me that chemistry is important. I highly suggest also reading reviews. Those are SO important, especially when it comes to a wedding. For a day as important as a wedding, if a photographer doesn’t do a good job, you better believe there will be a ton of angry reviews!

The photographer I used for my engagement shoot was Allison McCafferty. To view her website please click here. She was spectacular! I vetted her out through reviews and not one bad comment was made. Over email she was super friendly and had prompt responses which was really important to me. Since my fiance John is in the Military we even had to change the date of our original shoot date due to him traveling last minute which she was completely accommodating with. Onsite she was everything I thought she was going to be and more. Kind, patient, charming, and most importantly fun.

Allison McCafferty really focuses on getting those “real moments” that aren’t staged. Sure the photos start out staged but she truly works to capture the natural flow of the relationship. I hate too many staged photos where smiles are all fake but she helped put us at ease and it all became natural and had a flow to the poses. She’s also a dog lover so of course we brought our pooches! Word of advice, if you are going to bring your dog/s to your engagement shoot make sure to have a dog handler with you to hold the dogs while you’re taking photos without them. My cousin Maggie did this for us and was a huge life savor. Can’t thank her enough for all her help!

It’s also great that Allison was able to provide us with so many suggestions of where to take our engagement photos because we had NO idea. She suggested Batsto Village and it was very helpful that she’s shot here before. I think that’s something to always keep in mind too when choosing a location. If the photographer has shot many times in one location they really know the lay of the land and where to get the best lighting at the right times.

This location was great because it was outdoors, had a lake, dogs were allowed, and it had rustic buildings we could pose in which I LOVED. I am a big fan of rustic design. There were little nooks and hideaways which were simply adorable.

Allison also had a lot of fun making creative shots with fun lighting and editing tools. These photos are just so special and really give off an enchanting feeling I am obsessed with. I really can’t get over how magical they look.

She was also very encouraging of us to strike a pose however we wanted to keep the session natural and organic. Of course she had great suggestions but if we wanted to try something else she didn’t say no! I remember for one of the photos she told John to “spin me around” as if we were dancing on the dance floor but instead he picked me up and started spinning me. Honestly, I’m so glad he got confused because this picture turned out adorable and was very “us”.

One of my favorite photos was a pose Allison suggested which was scooping me up by the tush and picking me up. I think it’s one of my favorites for sure. Real “dirty dancing vibes.”

When I received all the photos the total number was 110 which was an amazing amount to look through. I have so many favorites! Another thing to keep in mind when doing an engagement shoot is ALWAYS speak up. If there’s a pose you want to do say something don’t be shy. This is all about YOU and how you want the shoot to go. With that being said also listen to your photographer’s advice. If they have an idea for a pose run with it because they are the ones behind the lenses creating pure magic.

I think another great suggestion is to look through Pinterest and see what other people have done, especially if you are nervous. This is a great place to view other engagement shoots and get ideas of what you would want for yours. For example I wanted the dogs to be in photos with us and have a sign that said “Our parents are getting married.” Pinterest helped me finalize this idea and give me a real vision of the sign I wanted.

When choosing your outfit for your shoot make sure it’s something you’re comfortable in. The outfit I’m wearing is my favorite going out outfit so I wore this to the shoot. I didn’t want to wear something I wouldn’t normally wear and feel uncomfortable. It’s important to remember these photos are a beautiful insight to how the two of you are together so don’t be anyone but yourself! As you can see John wore his Columbia shirt for comfort. I did go a little more dressed up but I made sure my outfit made me feel beautiful, confident, and I wasn’t anyone but myself. Casual but cute.

At the end of the day these photos will be with you forever so really take your time when figuring out who you want to shoot your special moments. I truly loved working with Allison and will be working with her in the future whenever I need more photos taken. She is so gifted/sweet and I couldn’t have imagined these photos coming out any better than they did. If you’re as obsessed with these photos as I am make sure to reach out to her for your special day/moments. She won’t let you down!

The photos in this grass scene were some of my absolute favorites!

I can’t wait to marry the love of my life and share all our experiences with everyone. Such special moments yet to be made.