Something Romatic...and REGAL!

One month from today, my handsome fiance and I will be having our engagement shoot with Tina Rowden! I have been looking forward to this for a long, long time and my conversation with Tina today got me even more excited! When discussing possible venues, she asked me what my style was. I didn't have a particular style in mind so I just said "something romantic...and REGAL!" She laughed and stated "okay so basically we need to find you some grand European architecture in the middle of Atlanta?" Yes! :) Then she told me that she had done a shoot for a home design magazine at this beautiful house in Buckhead. She said it had a garden in the back with fountains and a pool and had the look that I was going for. Then she mentioned that this house just happens to be on the market and that no one is living there right now. She is going to try to pull a few strings and see if we'd be allowed to shoot on the property! I'm very hopeful about this prospect but nothing is set in stone just yet. Wouldn't this be a cool setting for pictures!?!?

 {Source}

Yes, that is a private residence. So now the question is, what does one wear when they are shooting at this type of location? Tina said, "oh, you definitely want it to look like you just came home from a formal affair" in her beautiful Australian accent. I seriously love her, but I'm not going to lie, Mr. CF is not a fancy schmancy type of guy and we do not attend formal evening affairs! I think we can have some fun with this though :)

So, I'm beginning my search for the perfect dress and the perfect shoes. Since it's still going to be light out at 5:30 pm, I want a very light color, maybe peach or pink. Something soft and floaty, but still dressy. I can't wait to update you when I find something!

I would love to hear about your engagement shoots! How did you select the venue? Were you comfortable in front of the camera? What did you wear?

Shoot Me!

I once read in a magazine that a bride and groom should prioritize what they feel is most important when it comes to their wedding. That way, they could allot a greater amount of the budget to those items and then try to save/DIY on everything else.

My top three:

1. Venue (especially ceremony)
2. Food
3. Photography

And Mr. Cuddle Fish's top two*:

1. Food
2. Venue

*I questioned him on his priorities without telling him mine and I was happy to see that our top two were the same! (More on the venue & food later)

I put photography way up on my list because I knew our photographer would be the one person who's services we'd utilize the most. I also knew that we'd spend the most time with this person, even before the wedding! There is the engagement shoot, the bridal portraits, and of course the ceremony and reception. We ended up going with someone exceptional (who's blog I have been following for quite some time) and as you may recall, she also is the person that led us to our reception venue!

So, first things first!

E-Sessions, oh how I love them! Styled, unstyled, doesn't matter. Originally I was super anxious to have our engagement shoot. I fully intended to have the pictures taken before the holidays so they could be sent out with our Christmas cards. That plan has now changed as I think they'd turn out better in the spring. Until then, I will spend my time looking for some serious inspiration!

I got started tonight and here's what I came up with! You can click on each picture to make it larger.

I have to post this one first because it is my beautiful cousin Michelle (The Real Life Mom) & her husband Ian (Scoobie Photography, I think):

Next, a styled shoot by Simply Bloom Photography based in Huntsville, Alabama:

Some by our photographer, Tina Rowden:

And others that I love by Di Bezi Photography and Desiree Huey Photography:



So I'm wondering, was photography important to you? If not, what was high up on your list of wedding priorities?