our engagement shoot experience!
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choosing our engagement photographer was the first decision we actually made about the wedding - though the venue was the first contract we signed - we knew who’d be shooting our wedding ahead of time. when we connected with lauren from laurel creative - we knew she was the one!
the three of us met over zoom, and we just clicked. we knew we’d get along great, and we loved her work!
fast forward to may, we finally met in real life and had our engagement pictures taken. meeting IRL felt like connecting with an old friend. we gelled so easily together, and the entire time we spent with her just cemented our decision to have her shoot our wedding. it’s so important to have a solid foundation with your wedding photographer - they’re taking pictures that you’ll want to look at and share forever, and they’ll be the ones helping you remember the day through imagery!
we’re based in PA, and lauren is in the NJ/NYC area, so we wanted to shoot in a fairly central location. when she suggested princeton, we jumped on the idea immediately. my dad is a princeton university alum, so the campus had extra special meaning for us - we even took one of my favorite pictures outside of his freshman dorm, and on the steps by blair arch, where i’ve taken his picture at different visits and reunions. we facetimed my parents while we walked the campus, bringing my dad with us to relive his college days. who would’ve thought that all these years later, his daughter and her college sweetheart would be having their engagement pictures taken at his alma mater? we also took pictures around town, again, a place i’d been several times since I was little, either for breakfast with my family, or for a princeton reunion or event, so it was just a huge full circle moment for me.
OUTFITS
as for our outfits, we knew we’d have 2 sets of clothes: formal and casual. we’re definitely super laid back people, so our idea of casual is more like ~loungewear~, but obviously we aren’t rolling up to our engagement pictures in sweats and “norts.” we both chose a comfortable pair of jeans, and a simple top. a long sleeved white tee from me, and a gray henley for him. I wore simple studs, and the rings I typically wear every day. for shoes, I wore the same badgley mischka sandals for both outfits, and don wore mark nason sneakers for both.
for our formal pictures, I changed into my dream dress - the starry princess gown from teuta matoshi. the dress comes in standard sizing, or can be made to measure. i didn’t want to take any chances and choosing my usual standard size (especially as it varies from designer to designer), so i entered my measurements to be 100% sure that it would be a perfect fit and wouldn’t require any alterations. I felt like a princess all day, and the dress is honestly just stunning. for those, I changed into pavé hoops, and pulled my hair back. don wore a simple blue button down and khakis.
outfit links:
HER:
dress | sandals | hoops | similar jeans | long sleeve tee | studs | chain ring | rope ring
(engagement ring is verragio)
HIM:
blue button down (same style, different color) | khakis (different color, same style) | gray henley | jeans | sneakers
a few tips:
one thing I noticed in engagement pictures from facebook groups or around pinterest that kept driving me nuts - having full pockets or lots of branded accessories/apparel! definitely a personal choice, but one thing I was SO grateful to lauren for, as soon as she pulled out her camera, she reminded don to take stuff out of his pockets. I LOVED THAT. it’s a little detail, but very noticeable in pictures! he and I also discussed not having any logos in our pictures (so no big nike swoops or band tees) - I found it to be really distracting in some of the pictures I saw (again, to each their own)! and he took off his apple watch prior to pictures, for similar reasons.
keep it light and conversational! being in front of the camera can be so awkward. lauren kept us talking and laughing to capture natural faces/reactions, and we really forgot we were having our pictures taken and not just having a good time.
try on your clothes ahead of time and make sure you can move comfortably in them! especially if you’re doing a lot of walking/posing, you’ll want to be sure you can be comfy the whole time without worrying too much about fussing with your clothes or worrying about sweating through them.
and finally, a sneak peek at the pictures
all pictures were taken by our wedding photographer, Lauren from Laurel Creative!
instagram: @laurelcreative
*click to enlarge*
