The Engagement (Shoot!)

G is not a picture person. He never has been. Ever watch that episode of Friends where Monica and Chandler go to get their engagement photos done and Chandler's face contorts into a strange grimace, akin to someone who just smelled something really foul? No matter how many times they told him to "Smile!" it would shoot straight back into that pained expression? That's G. 

While his grimace has fixed itself as the years have gone on, we still have a pitiful number of photos documenting our 12 years together. When my lovely friend, and photographer, Erin offered to take our engagement photos I leapt at the chance to have some really great, professional photos of the two of us. Plus, they're ideal for the many invites, website and updates that would be to come during our wedding planning process.

I'd gotten my hair done that morning which, woe is me, the curls immediately fell out and one of the braids fell down. Fortunately, we were able to resolve the braid, and it stayed up for the rest of the shoot. Fun fact: we wound up taking a shot between the two locations during this shoot. Turns out you become FAR more relaxed in front of the camera as a result. I think it shows.

I'm not the kind of woman that's dreamed about her wedding day since she was a little girl, and it definitely showed when I was trying to consider details for this shoot. Case in point, my outfits. What would represent me the most? What silhouettes did I really want to rock? Would they look as good as the many, many, MANY engagement photos I'd seen during my years in the magazine business and, you know, as a human being with a social media account? No pressure. Ultimately, I went with something more edgy and fun for my casual look, then an elegant but modern classic look for my formal outfit. They wound up being exactly right, not too stuffy but not too edgy and over-the-top.

Next up, the location. There are so many great spots to choose from in Miami, how could we pick a few? G and I actually got into a couple arguments over this one, but ultimately agreed on a historic location (Coral Gables City Hall) and the more nature-oriented Matheson Hammock State Park. We kept both locations to Coral Gables, because that's where we made our home. It meant more for us to keep all locations within our neighborhood.

What meant the most to us was having Kenji in this shoot. He's such a huge part of our lives, and arguably our greatest joy. We couldn't imagine not having our entire family in these pictures! He was so good throughout the shoot, all of those pictures I take of him for Instagram finally paid off.

The biggest advice I'd have is to stay true to yourself. You can keep these photos classy (if you want) and still make them feel like you and your partner. Now to make sure I keep enough wall space for all of the wedding photos I'll want to hang up in the coming months...

All photography by Erin Traum Photography.