Southern Weddings

Hi belles! Our friend and former Southern Weddings intern Jessica Clinch is the newest gal to take you through her wedding process here on the blog! Jessica will be blogging for us once a month until her wedding next May. In case you missed her introductory post, be sure to check it out here! — Emily

Planning for our engagement photos was extra exciting because it was the first real “event” we got to experience since getting engaged! We were also so looking forward to meeting our photographer, Perry Vaile, in person for the first time, and getting to experience her bubbly personality and incredible talent first-hand!

A few photos Jessica collected for engagement photo inspiration, from top to bottom and left to right: first two photos by Marcella Treybig, photo by Caroline Tran via Grey Likes Weddings, photo by KT Merry via Style Me Pretty, last two photos by Nancy Ray via Southern Weddings

Since we’re getting married in the spring, we thought it would be fun to have a change of scenery for our engagement photos, and have them taken in the fall. I love that after the wedding we’ll have photos from a variety of seasons to display in our home!

While we both love sweater season, the extra excuses to cuddle, and the changing colors of fall leaves, I prefer the rich berry tones and neutrals of fall to the classic oranges and reds. Zack and I also adore wine, but have never been to a vineyard together! So, I thought it would be fun to have our engagement photos taken at a vineyard. We made a trip of it, and traveled back to my hometown of Winston-Salem over my birthday weekend to take our photos.

When I was planning our engagement photos, I knew I really wanted the details to represent our love story. The very first date I planned for the two of us included a picnic in the park, where I packed an assortment of homemade sandwiches and treats. I loved the idea of going back to the beginning of our relationship and incorporating a picnic into our engagement shoot! It allowed us to have the chance to sit down and relax comfortably together, which was such a sweet moment. As you already know, we’re big wine and cheese people, so an assortment of tasty cheeses and a bottle of our very favorite red wine was a must!

Love her look? Here’s the link to Jessica’s dress + shoes!

As I said, there were a few meaningful details we wanted to include. On our very first date, Zack picked me up and presented me with a single red rose. He has surprised me with flowers, usually roses, throughout our relationship, so roses always make me think of him! Although roses are a more feminine touch, they remind me of his thoughtful, loving side, so I knew I wanted to have pink roses with us during the picnic, as well.

When Zack and I were dating long-distance, we wrote each other love letters on a weekly basis. It is one of my favorite parts of our love story, and I will cherish those letters forever! Since we now live in the same city, we haven’t written each other letters as frequently. As this was a once-in-a-lifetime day for us, I chose to write him a sweet note as a surprise for him to open while Perry was taking photos.

The last design detail I knew I wanted to incorporate was a hand-painted calligraphy sign. We looked through a few love quotes together, and both decided that we adored this quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite movies, so it felt very fitting! I love that while the sign looked beautiful in our photos, it’s also something that we will be able to keep as décor in our home.

Links for Jessica’s sweater, cords, booties, and similar hat!

It was so much fun planning for our engagement shoot, and even more fun actually taking the pictures. The time flew by, but I love that we get to relive each sweet little moment from the pictures Perry captured so beautifully for us! I hope you love them as much as we do!

Friends, I’d love to hear: how did you incorporate details of your love story or your personality as a couple into your engagement photos?

Written with love by Emily