Engagement photo stress...

[pockythoughts]

The short version: My fiance and I are scheduled for our engagement shoot two weeks from today, and I am flipping out about it.

Comments

[cookielaura]

Jeans and a nice top is definitely the way to go. I would say, if you are having patterned top, get your fiance to go plain, and vice versa.

We didn't have engagement pics though I'd have loved to; we did have a few 'practise' wedding pics when we met our photographer at our venue, and they came out quite nice. I don't think it's something you need to worry about too much though. Go for your usual hair and make-up, because it will all be done 'special' for the wedding and it's nice to have a natural alternative in the engagement pics, where you just look like normal you, I think :) You'll have enough groomed pics from the wedding!

What's your geek fandom/s of choice? Tis hard to suggest ideas without a fandom! x

[pockythoughts]

That's a good point about the wedding being the time for more 'polished' pics. I guess I just lack confidence in my hair and makeup skills. Going out is one thing, modeling for photos is quite another, LOL.

Fandoms...there are a lot of them. XD I'm more the fandom variety of nerd than he is, but some of the things we both enjoy (and are incorporating into the wedding in various ways) are Star Trek, Star Wars, Tolkien and Power Rangers. FI is a gamer, and I am...a vicarious gamer, I guess, because I dig the idea of video games but hate to actually play them.

We met via online dating, he proposed with a hacked Super Mario Bros. game, and we play D&D together. In terms of prop ideas, this gives me...laptops and dice, I guess. ^^;;

[miauminx]

you've got enough time to get a trial makeup/hair done if you were interested in it- when you go and do those things- you tell the stylist/makeup artist exactly that: you're looking for a more polished version of yourself. I'm not sure of your location, but I wouldn't think it would be beyond 100 for both- I know where I live (and I think is the general rule for MAC) that you pay $50 and they'll do your makeup and I think you get a mascara afterwards- Not sure how sephora works- I only buy perfume from there

[pockythoughts]

Sephora is the same - you buy $50 worth of merchandise in order to have your makeup done. I guess the hangup that I have is that I'm on a budget and not even sure if I'm going to have makeup professionally done for the wedding itself, or if I'm just going to let my MOH do it since she's brilliant at makeup. If she were local, I would just have her do me up for the engagement pics as well, problem solved. Unfortunately, she's on the wrong end of the country right now, so that isn't an option. While I technically could afford to shell out a hundred bucks to get makeup done, I'm just not sure if I want to when that money could just as easily go to other things.

The biggest thing FI and I do together is play D&D. There are always dice and minis in my purse, and I have a sneaking suspicion they will make their way into some of the pictures. An internet cafe would be a great idea since we met online and had our first date in a coffee shop. There are few things more 'us' than sitting side by side in front of a pair of laptops, LOL...

[fuckedbeauty]

At our MAC counter you just buy $50 worth of makeup and they do it for free... However, if you are looking for something less flashy, I don't recommend MAC. They are great if you wear makeup daily and you are used to wearing a lot of makeup, but if not.. you won't look like yourself. I would recommend maybe Bare Minerals or Clinique for something simpler.

I also think at Sephora you buy a $50 giftcard, which can be used toward future purchases. I would also recommend going to a salon and simply having a wash and style. They are usually about $20.

My FH and I didn't really coordinate what we wore. We both wore jeans and nice tops. Mine was red and his was black with small red stripes. You couldn't really make out the red in his though, so it didn't look like we planned it.

Good luck. Maybe if you can bring props of the nerdy stuff ya'll like to do together that would help.

[pockythoughts]

Thanks for the tip on which makeup counter to use if I go that route. I hate the feel of foundation or powder on my face, so I literally never wear it. But I've heard Bare Minerals is lighter and not so gunky, and I think there's a counter at my local Macy's, so maybe I'll look into that.

My favorite shirt of FI's is a charcoal gray polo with a subtle checked texture to it. Maybe I'll make him wear that and then find a top for myself that looks good with it. Although my photographer recommended brighter colors, so maybe the gray is a bad idea. Hmm.

Prop-wise, we might end up taking our laptops along since we met online...that's plenty nerdy, I think, LOL.

[fuckedbeauty]

I think it would be really cute for you to be facing each other with your laptops... or to maybe have a prop that looks like a wall in between you and you each on your laptops. It would kind of "recreate" how ya'll met.

I actually disagree with bright colors unless they are colors your normally wear. We wear a lot of dark clothes (black, deep purple, gray, dark red) so we actually don't own too many bright clothes and I really don't feel like we would've looked like us. Granted out pictures weren't too "us". We were supposed to change into Saints jerseys, but we ran out of daylight. LOL. His cousin did the photographs so I'm going to have her do my bridals/our wedding formals... I'm thinking about using our jersey's then.

I'm sure they will look amazing. I wasn't too excited to do them either, but his cousin did them for free and she gets to use them in her portfolio.

[karnerblue]

FYI, I seem to remember that you're local -- the Bare Minerals store in Crossgates will do a free makeover on you (meaning that you can try it free... or you could go in, do a trial and then go do your photos, if you want to be sneaky :) ).

[sliveredlight]

You could go with geeky tops, if you wanted to show off that side of you! You wouldn't necessarily have to wear them in all the photos, even.

Secondly: relax. :) A good photographer will guide you, or capture your natural moments, or do a combination thereof.

You could google the crap out of engagement photos, and send a few you like to the photog, so that they have an idea of what you like. Or look at offbeatbride or Pinterest.

[pockythoughts]

FI suggested that I wear a geeky t-shirt. I told him that if I did, he had to do the same, and he didn't want to, LOL.

I'm hopeful that once the pre-planning aspect is done and I have my outfit, hair, makeup and props figured out, I'll be more able to enjoy the process itself. Thanks for the tips!

[aniline]

Those are awesome!

[greatmachinery]

dude. AWESOME.

[pockythoughts]

Those are spectacular! And your outfit is made of win. I love those shoes.