5 Tips: Elegant Engagement Photos

Andrew (my fiance) and I had so much fun getting dolled up and taking photos to celebrate our recent engagement. It was very important to both of us that we had photos that would stand the test of time and be special for years to come. This blog post will touch on the 5 things that helped Andrew and I achieve the engagement photos of our dreams! The goal of this post is to help you ladies create the engagement shoot of your dreams that will produce photos that you will love as much as Andrew and I love our photos!

To view our engagement photos, click HERE to view the BEAUTIFUL work of Tank Goodness Photography!!

ONE: Find your inspiration. If you don't have a secret Pinterest board. You are missing out. I found that I was able to communicate what I wanted from the shoot, because I had done my research! My board was previously secret, but for the sake of this Blog post, I've released it to the general Pinterest and Blogging world! You'll find the widget below-go ahead and take a look!

Follow Olivia's board Simply Southern Engagement Photos on Pinterest.

TWO: Your photographer is EVERYTHING. Andrew and I selected Tank Goodness Photography as our photographers (husband & wife team)! We have a wedding package with them that includes a variety of photo shoots, including the wedding day! I knew instantly when I met with Travis (over Skype) that he and his wife were the photographers of our dreams! Not only are their photos beautiful quality, but their willingness to tailor the style of the shoot towards our vision was CRUCIAL. If you're in the Austin, TX area and looking for a great photographer duo, I HIGHLY recommend Travis and Nina!

THREE: Take the time to plan your outfits. I would give yourself 2 months to pull together your wardrobe. The last thing you want to do is have to do one big shop to pull together 2-3 outfits. I purchased my clothing over the course of about 6 months. The biggest stress clothing wise was the iconic Southern dress I wanted for the more "formal" photos. You would think that this would be an easy task in the state of Texas, but it WAS NOT. I spent countless hours online shopping to find the perfect dress. I found my dress at ASOS online. I had never shopped online with ASOS before, but now I am hooked. Their line of Southern inspired dresses are impossible to ignore. I wish I had more than one hanging in my closet right now.

FOUR: You took the time to meticulously plan your outfits, now please don't forget your man! Andrew has wonderful taste in clothing, but the man was lacking a sports coat. It would have been impossible to achieve the look we were going for without a sports coat. The moral of this bullet point is to remember that you aren't the only one who needs to look fabulous. If you are going for a certain theme, you need to make sure that both of you touch on the theme. We ended up getting a great deal of classic sports coats at Men's Warehouse. We also splurged on a new pair of black boots for Andrew (he is also wearing these with his suit at the wedding). Not only did he look EXTREMELY handsome ladies, but he felt SUPER comfortable in his own skin and his new outfits!

FIVE: Location, location, location. My maid of honor helped me search high and low in Huntsville, TX for the perfect southern location. We ended up selecting Whistler Bed & Breakfast as the setting of our Southern photos. I know that a big part of our beautiful Southern photos was setting the stage with something that had stood the test of time for many years already. The Whistler Bed & Breakfast is a gorgeous estate located downtown Huntsville, TX that boasts a rustic elegance that was just SIMPLY SOUTHERN.

I hope this helps, ladies!