Weddingbee Blog

I can honestly say it’s funny now, but at the time I was on the verge of tears. I just hate being late to anything, and we were already tight with time. It was also the first time I met our photographers, and because I’ve had no prior experience with something like this, I had no idea what would happen when our two hours were up and our pictures were nowhere near completed. The last thing I wanted was two annoyed, freezing photographers, hating me for wasting their time.

When I did finally get there, our photographers had smiles on their faces, and they didn’t seem mad at all! After I apologized profusely, we chatted for a couple of minutes to get to know each other as we headed to our first location, the Gapstow Bridge. Matthew and Chung are both so easygoing and chatty. I was really nervous, but they made me feel so comfortable. By the time we got to the Bridge, all the stress I was feeling just a few minutes before was starting to dissipate. That was right about the time I pulled my boots out of my bag and realized I forgot my socks, but I was feeling so good that I didn’t even mind all that much. That is, until I stuck my feet into them. Don’t you just hate that feeling, when your bare foot is squeezed into an old and smelly boot? We cracked a few jokes about asking them to take pictures of us waist up only to leave out my ratty boots, and finally began our session, 45 minutes late.

As soon as Matthew and Chung started snapping away, I looked into Mr. Martini’s eyes and my own eyes started to water. He kept saying, “Nooo! You can’t cry! Your nose is going to turn red!” It was so emotional for me because after everything that had been happening with wedding planning and being so constantly busy with the wedding, there was finally a moment when it was just all about Mr. Martini and me. Those first 10 seconds of our session really meant a lot to me. After that, I came to my senses and realized I really didn’t want a red nose in all of our pictures, so I fought to control myself.

As I’ve mentioned, I was very unprepared for this shoot. I didn’t think about any poses I wanted to do, or what types of pictures I wanted. I’ve heard from many people and read on many blogs that when taking engagement pictures, you should be prepared to give the photographers direction, and not to expect them to tell you what to do. I was a little worried about this, but Matthew and Chung gave us plenty of much needed direction! I thought we were pretty much just going to be sitting there staring at the camera smiling, with semi-confused expressions on our faces, but they were very specific about what they wanted us to do, telling us, “Turn your head, look at the flag over there, lean in, right shoulder down, look at each other, and kiss!” I trusted everything they told us to do, and other than constantly mistaking my left from my right (ugh ask all my friends – I seriously have a problem with left and right!), the shoot started off smoothly, and then quickly became a lot of fun. They were very good about letting us be creative when we wanted to, while also taking control when we started to feel lost. Mr. Martini actually surprised me – he constantly made me laugh to ease the tension, and even made Matthew and Chung crack up when he started surprising them with random, crazy faces.

When we went to our second location, we changed in a nearby coffee shop. That’s right about when I noticed that the belt on my dress was broken. The metal latch that holds the belt in place was just no longer there, and the belt would not stay on. Without it, the dress looked super weird. I panicked for a few seconds, then noticed the single safety pin on my backpack, still pinned through the little baggage ticket from my last race. Lucky me! (Sorry L for cursing you that day when you forced me to get up early to run. Everything truly happens for a reason!) I used it to pin the belt in place and headed to our second location, Washington Mews.

After Washington Mews, we weren’t sure where to go, as we really didn’t know of any other areas in the Village, but Matthew and Chung knew exactly where to go. They walked us over to the cutest streets I’ve ever seen, and I even recognized some locations from the Watson Adventures scavenger hunt. Chung saw someone walking a really cute dog, and asked to borrow him for a few minutes for pictures. The four of us got along so well that when we passed by Joe’s Pizza, we got a slice together. We even forced them to experience Beard Papas for the first time. I mean, who hasn’t tried Beard Papas?! (Of course, I say this as if I haven’t tried it for the first time just a couple of months ago). In just a short period of time, we were becoming fast friends. Professionally, they were just absolutely amazing. They didn’t take things too seriously, but were also very focused on getting “that” shot. We were so extremely grateful that our photographers made sure we got everything in, despite the fact that I was running so late. I don’t think I will ever forget that favor. The best part about everything was that we had so much fun. It really was the best day, and I was so excited when our pictures showed up on their blog not long after! Here are just a few of my favorites:

(You scrolled down to see the pictures first, didn’t you?)

All photos below courtesy of Cly Creation

Curses! My ratty black boots! Otherwise, I love this picture on the Gapstow Bridge.

This is one of my favorite pictures. There’s so much going on here, but we’re still the focal point of the picture.

We passed by this saxophone player, and took the opportunity to get some shots.

In these pictures, we were just told to “pretend to dance”. With no music, we awkwardly swayed back and forth. I’m surprised they came out so well!

I really, really loved my hair. Dare say it – almost to the point that I no longer want to cut it, and instead get a perm. Hey, I said almost!

I remember taking this picture because I turned to tell Mr. Martini, “I’m totally sucking in my gut!” He responded, “Oh crap, thanks for reminding me!” I think this picture was taken mid-suck.

The adorable puppy we stole for a few minutes. How adorable and perfect is this dog? Can you believe that he is not even 6 months old?

I love this picture too, considering it was totally posed, but we still managed to look so natural.

It took two tries and a twenty dollar bill to get a taxi to sit long enough for us to take a few shots. But it was totally worth it!

They also made us a little slideshow that showcases even more pictures, and I love every second of it.

How much direction did your engagement photographer give you?  Did you need to be more in charge of the shoot, or did they take care of it?