Photography has been a huge part of Kollin and I’s engagement since the beginning. He surprised me with a photographer when he proposed to capture the proposal and my reaction during the surprise party he planned after and they are some of my favorite pictures from the day as they captured the memories perfectly and took us straight back to those emotions we were feeling.
When looking for a wedding photographer I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I searched website after website, talked to friends and families about who they suggested and while everyone was very talented, there was something missing still. I started searching the hashtag #kentuckywedding on Instagram and came across Drake and Eliza Photography.
I immediately fell in love with their ability to capture the smallest moments and make them the focal point of their perspective for the entire shoot. Moments that some people may not even think to capture or pictures of people truly feeling and expressing an emotion purely. I knew we found what we were looking for and couldn’t wait to chat with them.
After a few emails, we set up a Facetime (they are in KY) and met Drake. Drake and Eliza are a husband and wife team and we loved the fact that they experienced their wedding day and know exactly what couples are looking for since they’ve been in their shoes together. We talked about our vision for the day, how we met, what was important to us the day of and more about their perspective on photography.
Needless to say, we couldn’t agree more on everything and we set up our engagement shoot!
I loved the idea of our engagement shoot taking place in Louisville, KY, where we are both from and met. We chose a park that I used to go to as a kid and thought it captured the southern feel we were looking for without it being too rustic. The shoot was so much fun and Eliza made us feel so comfortable. We laughed, jumped and tried our serious faces but ended up laughing even harder!
After about 15 minutes Kollin and I got comfortable with “ignoring the camera” as Eliza would say and we just got cuddly for the rest of the shoot as she captured our special moments and giggles.
My best advice for engagement shoots and finding the right photographer? Think about emotion rather than a shot list. A lot of photographers asked us what shots we wanted to capture, the group photos we wanted and how their style reflected what most couples are looking for. What I loved about Drake and Eliza, was their intention and thought behind the shots and entire day. I think it is evident from our pictures that they truly capture the couple they are shooting and we could not be happier with the results!
When deciding what we wanted to wear I knew I wanted something classic that would necessarily show the year or decade if you will. Seeing wedding photos from the 80s makes me cringe thinking about what ours will look like 30 years from now! Given that, Kollin wanted to wear a suit, but chose to stick a bit more casual and go tieless. His only complaint was that it was so hot and all the layers was tough with the heat. For my dress, I found it on Lulu’s a few weeks before the shoot and loved the clean lines and low back. The color was neutral and the style was easy enough to match the vibe of the shoot, but still elegant enough to contrast the natural environment. I added some look a likes below and some other options I think would be great for a similar vibe of engagement shoot!
This last picture was after the shoot and Kollin and I were walking back to the car when we realized we still had an hour until our dinner reservation. We walked by the swings and he ran toward them and hopped on. We then decided we wanted to act like 8 years olds and see who could swing the highest. Eliza was thoughtful as usual and captured the whole thing before heading out. When we saw the gallery of images we got so excited seeing that surprise at the end!
