Have You Considered…a REAL Engagement Shoot?

Photo by Anna K Photography

Good afternoon beautiful and happy Monday! Welcome to the first of one of our new features on Bespoke Bride! 4 times a month we’re going to be handing over the microphone (so to speak) to some of our very dearest and wisest friends in the biz ! These guys really know what they’re talking about and have some awesome advice to give you all! You’ll hear from photographers, stylists, prop makers, crafters and crown creators! Today, Martina Capodanno from Photo Stories is asking, have you ever considered a REAL proposal shoot? This will be the first of her mini series where she’s asking you about things you may not have considered regarding your special day…sounds exciting doesn’t it! Over to Martina…

So, the other day I decided to spend my evening in, lying in bed with the company of my bluray set of Downton Abbey, and whilst I was having a classy dinner in bed, the ever so grumpy Mr. Carson, who was having one of his rare in-deep conversations with Mrs. Hughes, swallowed once again his pride and said something like:

“You’re right, Mrs. Hughes. The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end, that’s all there is”.

Well said Mrs. Carson, well bloody said.

Whilst there are many moments in life that we, by tradition, try to document as much as possible (your wedding day being probably the most important), there are many others that just come and go. We will probably remember them for the rest of our lives, but the images in our mind will eventually fade. Now, if you’re a big soppy nostalgic face like yours truly, such thought is probably terrifying to you.

5 Reason to have a *real* engagement session, and 5 beautiful examples…

1. You get to surround yourself with funky props and picturesque scenarios, with the good excuse of it being for the photoshoot.

Imagine yourself in 20 years, telling your kids that you proposed to their mother on a boat, dressed like Dick Van Dike in Mary Poppins. How flippin’ awesome would that be? But how exactly are you going to do it if you don’t have the wonderful excuse of a photoshoot? “Hi dear, yes, ahem, could you please grab yourself a 1910 white dress and a funky hat? Why…you say? Ahem…reasons”.

Good luck with that.

2. On the other hand, if you go to your sweetheart and tell her/him ‘I would like to have some picture taken of the two of us, what do you think?’

I honestly can’t picture a single scenario where even the most camera shy person won’t think it’s an incredible sweet thing to do. And Mary Poppins aside, you really don’t need to dress up or get to that cute vintage tea room. Your favourite place will be a perfect setting if quirky props are not your cup of tea.

3. You can have some butt-kicking picture for your Save The Date.

My heart would likely melt if I received in the post an image of my best friend with her face blown away by the surprise and her lifetime partner in crime on one knee. You tell me if that doesn’t beat holding an empty frame 100 to 1!

4. Your photographer will be there from the very beginning.

This takes a lot of browsing for photographers out of the wedding-planning madness. Plus, I can tell you from experience that (in most cases) the more chances you had to get to know you photographer (and vice-versa), the better result you will have on your wedding day. Your photographer becomes a friendly eye to whom you have very little to tell about you two because he/she’s seen it all happening (and captured it for you).

5. The images of that moment won’t fade.

Now forget about Mary Poppins. Forget about the Save The Date card.

There will always be that photo that will remind you how you both felt in that very moment. That’s the moment you decided to turn a relationship into a family before you legally committed to one another. That’s one moment in life I would frame in gold and unicorn hair and really treasure for as long as I live.