Going With My Gut

A while back, I shared my excitement over choosing our photographer, and promised to share a little more about how we made the final decision. It was somewhat of a difficult decision because the photos and video that we will receive after our wedding day are very important to me. Mr. Coach jokes that after the wedding he expects to come home from work many nights and find me sitting on the couch crying over our wedding film and/or photo album.

Honestly, that's probably not too far from the truth - I do love to reminisce. So, I knew that I was putting a lot of faith into whoever we chose to document our day.

Similar to Mrs. Boa Constrictor, I found myself caught between choosing the more expensive professional, and the budget friendly, but also very talented, photography student. Let me tell you, it is a tough place to be, or at least it was for me. I mean, these are my WEDDING PHOTOS we're talking about. Thoughts kept running through my mind of all of moments throughout that day they couldn't be repeated or replicated.

I did contact a few others just for comparison's sake, but the professional photographer who's work I had fallen in love with was Alex Maldonado of AlexM Photography. I had discovered his work during my Freshman year of college, when I also fell in love with the work done by Vanessa McKellar, and I had been stalking his blog ever since. I really loved his fun take on weddings and the way he captured the "typical" wedding events in a unique way.

Photo by AlexM

But he's not all fun and games - he also just takes really amazing photos.

Photo by AlexM

Up until I actually started planning a wedding I just KNEW I was going to have Alex shoot the big day. But then, budgets happen, and you have to be realistic. By no means did I think Alex's wedding packages were overpriced, in fact, I thought they were pretty reasonable for the amount of work he was going to do and the quality of his work. But reasonable or not, money is money, and I really didn't want to spend that much on photography. I'm not sure what I was expecting - some kind of low-priced miracle, apparently - but I knew I had to look at other options.

I mentioned I had contacted a few other photographers, both in the DFW area as well as near my hometown in East Texas. Although there are many talented photographers out there, I just didn't feel like any of them were the right choice. Some were way overpriced, others were going to limit us on time to a mere 3 or 4 hours, which wouldn't even cover the reception.

I needed someone who could 1) take great photos, 2) who was willing and able to shoot the entire day - from getting ready to final exit, 3) who was reasonably not expensively priced, and for the icing on the cake, I would love a second shooter.

This is where the lovely and talented Megan Fortner comes in. Megan is a talented photographer, studying art at a university in Dallas, and we also went to high school together. She fulfilled each and every one of those requirements (!!) and was available on our day. It almost seemed too good to be true. After a good bit of deliberation, I finally just went with my gut and chose Megan.

Photo by Megan Fortner

Photo by Megan Fortner

Why yes, that IS a Piazza Wedding! / Photo by Megan Fortner

Did I worry about the fact that we didn't choose an "experienced professional" to photograph our wedding? At first, yes I did. I went back and forth, asking myself if it was the right choice. I wondered if maybe I should just find the money in the budget for Alex and let that be that.

But then as Megan began to post more weddings on her blog, and told me about the two internships she was doing (one of them with another wedding photographer) I knew she was going to get even more experience before October got here. On top of that, she did our engagement photos, and I was MORE than happy with the way they turned out. I 100% believe that what she may lack in experience she makes up for in the freshness of her work and the "young" ideas she has. I know she is learning great techniques from school and internships, and she will also have newer and exciting ideas for our wedding day photos. I went with my gut feeling, made a decision, and honestly can't wait for her to shoot my bridal portraits, and finally our wedding day!

What was the hardest decision you guys have had to make regarding the wedding? Maybe it was choosing the photographer, which dress you like best, or maybe just which flavor of cake is the tastiest? :)

Engagement Photo Reveal

Now that you know how hard it was for me to decide what to wear, the time has come to share these beauties. Let's be honest, this post is going to be a little picture heavy, but who doesn't love some good engagement photos? 

All photos by the wonderful Megan Fortner!

First up we have a few pictures that were taken at a wine bar called Cru. We frequent this quaint little place on weekends, so it was the perfect place to start of our date night/afternoon.

I mentioned that I wanted to start out with a nicer outfit for both of us. This dress was one that I already owned from Loft, paired with some white pumps. Mr. Coach kept the stripe theme going with a nice button up and some navy slacks. Just keepin' it classy, folks :) We also took a few pictures at the Angelika Film Center where we often see movies.  

After our wardrobe change, we got some pictures outside by the lake, and then took a walk around some of the town homes and shops that were nearby. This dress was something I bought new for the pictures, found here, and I have gotten a lot of use out of it since. I loved how bright and cheerful it was!

Finally, we changed our outfits one more time and then took a short drive over to a nearby field and a fire station to snap a few more photos. I really liked the color and pattern of this blouse (which I bought new for the session) and I feel like it photographed really well. I paired it with a skinny brown belt that I owned, and my favorite brown boots!

Our photographer, Megan was awesome! She was super professional, she had great ideas throughout the afternoon as well as an awesome eye for good locations, and she was so much fun to be around! I highly recommend her if you're in the DFW area!

Overall, we kept it pretty simple with our outfits and surroundings, which I think is a great idea because it keeps the focus on YOU. For anyone out there who is like us, and didn't want to go all out with a themed shoot, I think having pictures taken at your favorite date spot or somewhere you're familiar with is a really good alternative - it allows you to be more at ease, and just enjoy being together like you would if the camera was not there. 

Although it's nothing new to us and our relationship, Mr. Coach and I also tried to laugh A LOT during the session; joking with each other felt natural, and kept us from getting nervous or taking ourselves too seriously. I highly recommend it :)

Tell me about your engagement shoot - did you plan all the details and go the theme route? Anyone else use a date night for your session?  

Engaged to Be Wed

Well, as of yesterday, wedding mode has resumed. I mentioned in my last post that some non-wedding, although still very exciting, events have been going on. The house preparation continued on Thursday with a quick trip chance to spend 7 hours in the car together, as Ryan and I drove from Waco to Houston to take care of some house business and prepare to close next Friday, and then from Houston back to Dallas to get ready for yesterday’s events. Side note: We spent all of our time on Thursday traveling between three major cities in Texas, cities where we know of many great places to eat, and what was the only thing we stopped for? Whataburger.

Yesterday, as we jumped back into the wedding preparation, we got to cross something off our to-do list that I have been very excited about: engagement photos! I mentioned a while back that the wonderful Megan Fortner is our photographer, and we got to spend lots of time with her yesterday, walking around one of our favorite little date locations and looking for beautiful places to shoot some photos. We chose to start out at the Shops at Legacy in Plano, expecting to find lots of different backgrounds within one area. Megan did not disappoint, y’all. She was AWESOME! This girl has such a great eye, and would point out places that I would’ve completely overlooked had she not mentioned them. I got to sneak a peek at some of the photos on her camera, and I cannot wait to see the finished product. I know they’re going to look great. It was an afternoon filled with an inappropriate couple (not us) on a park bench, out of control school buses, and Canadian geese ready to kill, but I know that she got some great shots in between the madness. Can’t wait to share them!

Such a tease! A photo Megan added to Facebook yesterday, straight off of her camera.
/ Megan Fortner Photography

The title of this post refers to Ryan's response any time I mention the word engagement.

Ex. "Hey Ryan, don't forget we have engagement photos next Friday."

     "Ah, yes. We're engaged to be wed."

Such a goof ball.