Dragonfly Photography
Old Ivy Fashion & Modern Art Whimsical Engagement
We don’t often highlight engagement sessions here. Not because they’re not fun, but because it generally takes a really unique engagement session to bring inspiration for other couples. This old ivy fashion Stan Hywet Hall engagement is just that.
Let me start by saying this. We always include an engagement session with our wedding collections for a few reasons. The first and simplest reason being that most couples needs a bit of practice when it comes to photos. Unless you happen to be in front of a camera for a living, chances are it’s going to be a bit intimidating for at least one of you. I think it’s especially important that you have a moment to “practice” when there are no stakes involved.
One of the other reasons is that we photograph a bit differently than you may have experienced before. Traditionally, people may have only had family photos (perhaps not the most relaxing moments), selfies, or maybe senior photos as reference for what the professional photo experience is like. Depending on who you worked with or what the stress level was this could be significantly off or significantly different for you and your partner. The easy solution is to spend some time together in front of the camera with us before your wedding day with exactly zero pressure and hopefully a lot of fun. The huge benefit is that you walk away with a whole set of images that document your love story in a different way. You can use them for save the dates, your guest book, or for your home, and hopefully you have a great date night.
Engagement sessions are also an amazing way to create something that reflects the two of you with a little more whimsy than perhaps you’d feel comfortable infusing on your wedding day. That’s exactly what M and T did with theirs. We chatted and created moodboards galore until we had the feel that M was looking for. They started with an old ivy fashion look at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron. It was something that the two of them were both drawn to and reflected their personal style as well as an era they loved.
From there they moved to a more modern whimsical look with fun fashion and bold colors – including red as nod to M’s Korean heritage. They even incorporated a pizza break because they’re both busy professionals who love a great take out moment, all with the Cleveland Modern Art museum as the backdrop for their engagement session.
So much about planning a great engagement session is communication and style. It helped that M and T have impeccable style to begin with, but it’s so important that they weren’t afraid to try and fail. She grabbed a number of looks that we ultimately decided just weren’t the vibe. Because she was willing to walk through that process of trying on, sending photos, comparing to the moodboards it all came together. They had so much fun just being themselves because they’d taken the time to really feel comfortable with what we we’re planning that evening.
If you’re our couple, we’ll spend time custom designing your session to fit your personality and story as a couple as well. This is part of what we love to do. But if you’re not working with us (or you want to get a jump on fun ideas) can read why we think an engagement session is important here and how to plan for a spring, summer, fall, or winter one.
