Marry Me Monday #1: Engagement Photos for the Penny Pinching Bride
Happy Monday all and welcome to the first edition of Marry Me Monday! I am so excited about bringing this series to you and sharing with you all of the secrets I have learned. Today's post is all about brides with small budgets and how to get some gorgeous engagement photos on a dime:
Congratulations, your're engaged!!! It's happened! Finally. After all that time waiting for the dang ring. Just kidding!! Now it's time to start down the rabbit hole known as wedding planning. Obviously one of the first orders of business is to document said engagement with adorable cutesy pictures that will have all of your friends hating you for being so cute. Just kidding again. But not really, right?
Congratulations, your're engaged!!! It's happened! Finally. After all that time waiting for the dang ring. Just kidding!! Now it's time to start down the rabbit hole known as wedding planning. Obviously one of the first orders of business is to document said engagement with adorable cutesy pictures that will have all of your friends hating you for being so cute. Just kidding again. But not really, right?
So what is a newly engaged, fiscally challenged girl to do?
Enlist a friend with decent photography skills and preferably a DSLR to document this milestone! Really, I would never suggest having a friend photograph your wedding because that is way too much pressure. But some engagement photos? Why not? What's the worst that could happen? You hate the photos and end up paying a professional anyways? That's not so horrible... and best case scenario you end up saving your hard earned buckaroos to spend on your dream dress or honeymoon. If you have the budget, definitely hire a professional... but if you are like me and have big dreams and small dollars sometimes you have to get creative to get what you want.
Scope out Pinterest to get some semblance of a theme for your shoot. In my head, I wanted to document Dancing on Train Tracks with my future hubs and that's just what we did. You may have other ideas, such as walking through the main street of your hometown or capturing the beautiful greenery of a local park. A friend of mine even had gorgeous engagement photos taken at their local bowling alley. Our group of friends joined a bowling league one summer for fun and their relationship sprouted from those weekly meet ups, so the bowling alley was near and dear to their heart. Whatever you end up deciding, it is always easier to get great shots when you have an idea of what you like and don't like beforehand.
Enlist a friend with decent photography skills and preferably a DSLR to document this milestone! Really, I would never suggest having a friend photograph your wedding because that is way too much pressure. But some engagement photos? Why not? What's the worst that could happen? You hate the photos and end up paying a professional anyways? That's not so horrible... and best case scenario you end up saving your hard earned buckaroos to spend on your dream dress or honeymoon. If you have the budget, definitely hire a professional... but if you are like me and have big dreams and small dollars sometimes you have to get creative to get what you want.
Scope out Pinterest to get some semblance of a theme for your shoot. In my head, I wanted to document Dancing on Train Tracks with my future hubs and that's just what we did. You may have other ideas, such as walking through the main street of your hometown or capturing the beautiful greenery of a local park. A friend of mine even had gorgeous engagement photos taken at their local bowling alley. Our group of friends joined a bowling league one summer for fun and their relationship sprouted from those weekly meet ups, so the bowling alley was near and dear to their heart. Whatever you end up deciding, it is always easier to get great shots when you have an idea of what you like and don't like beforehand.
My best friend took these photos of Stephen and I and they are probably my favorite of us ever. The key to getting some good shots is to go during daylight hours (duh!) and bonus points if you are not in direct sunlight. Apparently overcast is the best outdoor lighting you can get. Lucky for us we took these on Superbowl Sunday last year and it was freezing! Totally worth it though. We used these for our Save the Dates which came out so cute!
If you are interested in Save the Dates similar to mine, check out the listing in my Etsy shop here! I would love to work with you!
Stay tuned for another edition of Marry Me Monday next week!!
Stay tuned for another edition of Marry Me Monday next week!!
Great tips, thanks Ashley!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah! Can't wait to feature some of your amazing photos! Will be e-mailing you back later today :)
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