Behind the Scenes: Engagement Photos

Continuing the wedding planning diary, I thought I’d share details about our engagement photos including the photographer we chose, where we went, outfits and props selected!

I searched the internet over trying to find Katie Gallagher and came across her work on Instagram! First of all, I’m obsessed with her charming, timeless photography and editing style. But she’s also such a sweetheart! I loved chatting with her as we planned the photo shoot and instantly felt like I was talking to an old friend!

Katie is such a go-getter with her business and you can see her dedication in her work. One of the things Darrell and I loved most about working with Katie is how great she was about posing us, talking through our expectations for how we’d look in the photographs and helping us warm up to the camera!

You might think what I’m about to say sounds super silly but it’s true - in the moment you get so nervous! Darrell and I are both planners so we had thought long and hard and searched all over town to piece together the perfect look to portray our personalities, feel confident and look our best. We were paying for shots we hoped to frame and hang on the walls for years to come - these were important photos to us! No matter how much we prepared, we were still standing there in front of Katie and her camera like “UHHHH WHAT DO WE DO WITH OUR HANDS?!” And she knew exactly what to do!

And while we have a different photographer for our wedding (which I’m equally excited about and can’t wait to tell you guys more) I can’t recommend Katie enough for your engagement and/or wedding photos!

So now for the outfit details.

I have good news and bad news. Good news, I can actually link to quite a few of the pieces we wore! Bad news, I can’t link to a few because they were items I’d held onto for a long time.

We decided to go for a cute casual look that better reflected our “normal” selves and then a dressy outfit because, hello, this is a big occasion! How often do you get to get THAT dressed up for photos?

For my “casual” look, I wore cropped skinny dark jeans from Old Navy (sorry can’t link to the specific ones but they’re some of Old Navy’s “rockstar” jeans"), Gibson and Latimer leather loafers from Dillard’s (these are only available in black on Dillard’s website), a polka dot sweater from Loft and pearl hoop earrings from H&M (they’re only available in colors now but still cute).

For Darrell’s “casual” look, he wore a navy with white dots slim-fit button down from H&M, a tan pullover sweater from H&M (sorry I can’t find this on their site anymore), shoes from Men’s Wearhouse and dark jeans.

For my “dressy” look, I wore a black Kate Spade dress I bought several years ago from 6pm.com. It has been such a great closet staple over the years. Unfortunately, I can’t link to it because it was purchased so long ago. But I’m so glad I chose to wear it because not only is black just so me, but the style of the dress is timeless and feminine. I wore black suede kitten heels from Ann Taylor which I bought on clearance earlier this year and can no longer find. For jewelry, I wore the pearl necklace my dad gave me for my 16th birthday and the pearl earrings my grandparents gave me for my high school graduation! Both pieces are some of my most cherished jewelry outside my engagement ring!! I was so happy to include such special items in these snapshots of this time in our lives.

For Darrell’s “dressy” look, we just so happened to find a suit he’s been wanting for a few years now (link to suit jacket and pants), at Express the day we were trying to assemble our engagement photo looks. I insisted he try it on and we just figured even if it was something he wanted to buy, it’d have to be tailored and wouldn’t make the cut for the photo shoot due to timing. BUT! It fit perfectly!! So then I was like well you HAVE TO GET IT! He loves Men’s Wearhouse and usually only buys suits there but they always have to be tailored and the fact that this one was on sale and fit like a glove, he decided to go for it. And you could just tell he was so excited to be wearing a suit in the color he’d wanted for so long. It was so him too, the bright blue and fitted. I’m SO glad he bought it. He wore shoes from Men’s Wearhouse for this outfit as well.

For my hair, I got a blowout at Drybar in Chevy Chase. I was so glad I decided to make an appointment because I didn’t have to stress at all, I got pampered and had a flawless look! I love, love, LOVE Drybar blowouts. I used to get my nails done like all the time and I still love a good mani and pedi but Drybar is like even better in my opinion. Not only does it smell like HEAVEN in there, but they’ve always got great movies playing and you just can’t help but feel happy with the yellow tools and friendly staff!

Props! We love Coca-Cola. If you’ve read my post detailing how Darrell popped the question, you know Coke played a key role. It was one of our first connections on our first date and it will even make a (tiny) appearance on our big day - stay tuned! ;) We bought mini glass bottle cokes and cute red/white straws at Walmart. For some reason when I put my paper straw in one of the bottles during the photos, it caused the Coke to spew out the top… hence the funny face/posture in a few shots!! It was a great prop because it wasn’t something forced, it made total sense for us and our story. It also helped because we didn’t have any emotional tie to the location of our photos but the Cokes made it more “us.” If you’re struggling to decide where to have your engagement photos taken or how to make them feel like you, consider a meaningful prop!

Location! We chose to meet Katie in Old Louisville, aka St. James Court. I had never been to this part of Louisville before but boy was it perfect! The gorgeous old trees and elegant old homes really played up that timeless look I was going for! Plus, the neighborhood and the park across the street just offered so many options for backdrops and beautiful scenery!

I can’t say enough about how pleased we are with our photos! We gave framed photos to our parents, siblings and grandparents for Christmas this year and it just filled our hearts with joy to see how much they adored them too!

Katie - you made both our mommas cry!! :) We will cherish these photos for a lifetime!