First all credit for this amazingness goes to Lauren Scotti (www.laurenscotti.com).  She is the genius behind both our engagement and wedding photos (I have those too and l can’t wait to share!) And to say I am obsessed is a huge understatement. One of my favorite moments has been when I am sitting at my desk and my laptop screensaver comes on flashing a mixture of both photo sets. I find myself watching the screen like a movie and loving every single one, every single time. I will cherish these forever. 

I want to share a few highlights and the story behind the photos, not only because they are so dang awesome but also because we almost did not take them at all. 

I mean… come on…  we almost did not take these?? 

We were engaged in March just before the California stay at home in order and in a time when COVID-19 was on the top of everyone’s mind.  We knew we were not going to have a long engagement and set our sites on August for our wedding.  We found an amazing wedding planner and secured my dream photographer.  By then we were approaching two months from our wedding date and the schedule was tight.  Unfortunately there were also restrictions in place in the state on outdoor activities, venues and other businesses- including photographers.  We were unsure if we were actually going to be able to move forward even if we planned a date unless these restrictions were altered.  

As with everything in life during this time my hopes were to proceed but knowing that it may not happen put a little damper on the excitement. In the back of my mind were thoughts like: Do we really need more photos of us? What about the added cost? Our wedding is so close… shouldn’t we just wait and call it a day?  Honestly how many photos of ourselves do we really need there are only SO MANY WALLS in our house?! Haha.  

So I naturally did what everyone would do in such circumstance.  I googled it.  “Do you really need engagement photos” “Why get engagement photos” and so on.  I read all the blogs, articles and theories I could find.  The answers were variable and solidified that my thinking was similar to many brides before me.  Next I asked my fiancé, wedding planner, friends, random strangers I passed on the street…. okay not really the strangers part but almost. 

Reflecting further got me nowhere.  Finally some business were allowed to open locally and it was during my first haircut in months I heard something that first stuck.  My hairdresser said not getting engagement photos was the one thing she regretted from that period of time before she was married. She said there was something to be said for having those photos to represent that time of your life. Boom, loud and clear.  My wedding planner also encouraged us to have more time to work with our photographer to get used to the direction in front of the camera prior to our wedding day.  She also recommended it because “Sometimes it’s nice to have nice photos where you are not wearing a wedding dress”, haha!  Seriously, as an adult other than my terrible work ID photo when do you get professional photos taken? Never. 

Once California eased restrictions we worked with our photographer to find a location, talk vibe etc.  I trusted her implicitly to guide us having seen her prior work. I sent thoughts on some casual jeans/tshirts and a little flow dress I had ordered. In the back of my mind I also had a dreamy jumpsuit ordered for our rehearsal reception from Rime Arodaky.  And when I say dreamy, I mean DREAMY!  By now we had realized that the dream wedding was postponed until 2021 and I decided this jumpsuit deserved to not be in my closet for a whole year waiting to be worn…  I sent pictures of all options to our photographer.  She suggested all 3 and had a space in mind in downtown LA.  Done deal.

If you have never been to the fashion district in DTLA it is similar to that area in New York or think crazy street vendors, lots of traffic on small streets, people walking everywhere and overall a very high energy urban environment.  We arrived with our luggage in hand and masks on.  Yes, luggage.  Unfortunately I am very good at dressing myself but dressing a man for a photo shoot was another story.  The one thing I figured out was for my dreamy jumpsuit (our most formal) I wanted him in a dark suit.  Which is actually another funny story.  A few nights before I had him pull out his current suits to try on for the shoot… And we realized immediately that he looked like he was trying on his father’s clothes as a kid.  They were HUGE! Haha. Have mercy.  We rushed down to Suit Supply (who had made his wedding suit… more on that in another post) and ordered him one as quickly as possible.  Looking at the photo above I think they pulled it off.

So there we are in downtown LA and head inside the studio.   Another photo shoot was finishing up. “How insane is it we get to do this” kept running through my mind.  The space was open and white, grand and urban, and very, very cool.  The light coming in was amazing.  I will never forget what an amazing experience it was to be able to use a professional studio in downtown Los Angeles, dress up and work with such an amazing photographer. We had a blast. Here we are behind the scenes before images and our reward after…

I received the photo set 11 days before the wedding. I am so happy we took the time, money and effort and made it work. I say this not only because of the photos but the memories we created taking them.  These photos represent a snapshot of our lives (literally and figuratively) in a time when we were working through a really crazy world together as a team.  They illustrate learning how to love each other during a quarantine.  They represent the excitement of planning a beautiful wedding that we will one day get to share with our family and friends (see you in 2021).  They show our laughter, our playfulness and our inability to make normal faces in front of the camera 99% of the time and they document fully just how in love we are in that moment. A moment we will never see again.  I am so grateful it is documented in such a beautiful way.