If you remember from my previous engagement pictures post, we chose to go with Niki Marie Photography for our engagement pictures. Niki helped us decide on outfits and locations and we headed to downtown Detroit for our engagement shoot.
That was an adventure in and of itself, of course. Downtown Detroit is fascinating because you can see how it was once beautiful and thriving—massive, tall buildings and a network of streets. However, today so many of those buildings stand empty and abandoned and most people avoid spending extended time there. The unemployment rate has skyrocketed and on every street you can see evidence of neglect. Some of these buildings are the background to our pictures-although Niki managed to make them look amazing of course!
A few days after the engagement shoot she posted this sneak peek!
A few things:
1. I LOVE this picture! I look just like I feel—relaxed and happy—and Mr. Lemur is actually smiling for real. Of course, after all of my dilemma about what to wear and not wearing black…I’m wearing black. In my defense, I had a colored shirt and cute pants on, but it was getting chilly by the end of the day.
2. The whole photo shoot was SO much fun. Mr. Lemur & I relaxed and interacted easily while Niki snapped pictures. She would put us in a basic location and pose and then let us laugh and talk while she took pictures. Occasionally she would give us some direction like “Miss Lemur, look at Mr. Lemur” or “Mr. Lemur, make Miss Lemur laugh!”
3. There is a hilarious story behind this picture. We were actually done with the photo shoot…it was 5:00pm and we were driving away from downtown Detroit towards I-75. All of a sudden Niki goes “pull down one of these streets, the sun is perfect!” Mr. Lemur pulls a u-turn in an intersection on a red light (good thing there were no cars around) and heads down a street with ZERO parking spots. So we keep going and going, and the sun keeps getting lower and lower! Finally he parked in a no parking zone, we hop out of the car, and we all run back two blocks to get the sun at the perfect angle. We stood in the middle of the street as Niki snaps away and I say “These pictures better be good for all of this!” And they were.
I can’t wait to show you the rest! We’ve also decided to book Niki for our wedding pictures. I’m thrilled! Not only are we getting great pictures at a great price, I also feel completely comfortable with her. I did not feel rushed or unnatural during the engagement shoot and I’m sure working with her on our wedding day will be the same way.
Please tell me your crazy stories from your photo shoots (engagement or otherwise)! Anyone take pictures in a less than desirable area? We were completely safe the whole time but we had several comments yelled our way, not all of them appropriate.
Oh this is exactly what I need to hear so I can be calm n look forward to my e-shoot n not get all wound up about hair n outfits
The lighting in your photo is AMAZING! What a gorgeous shot!
http://newyorkremix.blogspot.com/
@MrsPadlock2B: Honestly the most important thing is to just have fun. The pictures will reflect that! I loved dressing up and doing my hair but in the end the most important thing was hanging out with my fiance 
Beautiful! I think the light was totally worth all of the hassle.
I do think it is a disservice to Detroit to write or imply that it is a “less than desirable area.” Downtown Detroit has gorgeous architecture–including some truly spectacular art deco buildings–and is the home to several major national companies, including GM and Quicken. It is also increasingly becoming a place to hang out, thanks to good restaurants, bars, casinos, clubs, sports, and cultural activities. Are there a lot of abandoned buildings mixed in? Absolutely. It is still a depressed city. Is it undesirable? Absolutely not.
We also did our engagement pics in downtown Detroit (I’m originally from metro Detroit and we’re getting married in the area). It was rather like being in NYC, where I live now, except less crowded. Downtown Detroit is a great location–I’m glad you chose it! It looks like your photos came out really well.
@gypsy1899: I appreciate your second paragraph. I mentioned at the beginning of my post that I find the area incredibly fascinating! Sorry if my last comment bothered you—I should have clarified that the whole city is definitely not a bad area. We took pictures at several sites—especially near the Fox Theater and federal courthouse—that were gorgeous and definitely cool areas to spend time in.
I actually made the comment because our photographer had some insults thrown her way while we were shooting in a few other areas west and north of the spots I already mentioned. She’s super pretty and I felt bad for her to have to deal with that while just doing her job. I know this would happen in other areas too—but the area we were shooting in definitely made an impact.
That being said, I don’t regret doing the shoot in downtown Detroit at all! I’m not getting married there, but I am moving to the area after getting married
great lighting indeed!
on a sort of related note, i have been learning a lot about detroit’s architecture (at my new job, we have two photography exhibitions that highlight it’s decline and how it’s being rebuilt again) – it’s fascinating what’s happened there. i cant wait to see how you incorporated that setting into your engagement photos!
@Miss Gray Wolf: Are you familiar with Michigan Central Station? I’m kind of obsessed with how cool that building is!
This is a great picture! What a good eye and instinct your photographer has!
What a beautiful photo, I cant wait to see more from what I’m sure is a wonderful shoot!
Mrs. Lemur, Greenville, South Carolina Age and Occupation: 22, Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Security Officer Engagement Date: October 9, 2012 Wedding Date: May 2013 Venue: Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat Center About Me: I may fancy myself a doctor after too many episodes of House—but in reality I'm finally almost done with my degree in business administration (less than three months left!). My fiance and I met at school in undergrad hundreds of miles away from either of our hometowns and have been happily running and hiking together ever since. We're undertaking a long distance relationship as I finish school and we plan our casual wedding for a day after graduation—needless to say, it will be the busiest and most exciting weekend of our lives so far!
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