Happy #weddingwednesday my friends! Today is the first of many blog posts that I will refer to Wednesday as “Wedding Wednesday!” We are almost 365 days until the big day. I can’t believe how quickly time is moving! I feel like I have done so much but still have so much more to do ha-ha! In today’s blog post I am going to give you ALL the details from the photo-shoot and some future tips for anyone trying to decide what to do for their engagement pictures!

OK so where to begin? John and I got engaged February 27, 2020 (2 days before our big joint 30th birthday party). It was such an intimate proposal (exactly how I wanted it). He proposed to me at my parents’ house right in front of the fireplace and let me tell you- I was in COMPLETE shock. I was so focused on the 30th birthday party that I had no idea what hit me! This is exactly how I wanted to get proposed to- not out in the public- just a romantic, between us, moment! We were able to share the amazing news 2 days later at our 30th birthday party! All details from that party are in this blog post.

We were originally going to take our photos in April, but then Covid happened and ruined our plans; as it did with so many other things!! It was a blessing in disguise though because I LOVE the fall time, as many of you know. It gave us the opportunity to take our pictures in October, my favorite month EVER! So this past Saturday, 10/10/2020, we took our engagement pictures at The Skylands Manor (located in Ringwood, NJ). It is absolutely GORGEOUS over there. The trees started to change color for the fall and it was so scenic. I specifically picked Skylands Manor because of all the amazing views.

If you are looking to take your pictures in Northern New Jersey- this is definitely the place to be. There are so many spots on the grounds for photo ops.  As stated above, the leaves started to change color, which made me so happy. Although the fall foliage isn’t in full effect yet in NJ, I liked the mix of the autumn colors with the green trees.

A lot of people asked me if Sklyands Manor meant something to the both of us. At the time it didn’t. We both had never been there before, but I wanted more of a nature theme for our engagement pictures. Although I do like NYC views, and the beach, I did not want to take my pictures there. The grounds at Sklyand Manor were more our speed and I can now say that Skylands Manor has a special place in my heart 🙂

Now let’s get down to the good stuff- my outfits, makeup, nails AND photographer!

I am blessed to have so many talented people in my life; one being my friend Rachel. She went to school for makeup and not only does a fantastic job with glam makeup looks, but KILLS it with FX makeup! Check out her instagram here. She did my makeup for the photo-shoot! I was so happy with the way it turned out I did not want to take it off at the end of the day. We went with a more natural look (that is more my speed when it comes to makeup).

Another artistic person in my life is Mike, who happens to be my friend Rachel’s boyfriend. Talk about creative couple!! He was the master behind the camera (my photographer). Would you believe me if I told you that he does photography as a HOBBY? Yep, that’s right! How amazing are all these shots? Better than most professionals (even though I call him a professional because…. HOW GOOD)! Between him and Rachel, they placed John and I in the positions for these photos and told us how to model LOL. Check out his Instagram here!

I cannot thank the both of them enough for all the help with the photo-shoot. One thing I value most is time (esp. other people’s time). So for them to take time out of their busy schedules, especially on a Saturday, meant the WORLD to me!

Now getting onto my strong suit- the outfits I wore for the shoot 🙂

There are 2 things I knew I definitely wanted for this photo-shoot. One was the scenic, outdoorsy location and two, was two outfit changes. I knew I wanted to have a dressier look, and then change into a causal look. I also knew I didn’t want to wear a white dress because, in my personal opinion, you have so many other times as a bride to wear white especially on the big day. Again, this is a personal preference and you choose what YOU want to do 🙂

Let’s start with the causal look because it was so much easier for me to decide on what to wear for that than it was for the dressier look. Everything is linked here for the casual look. You can also shop some pieces below for this look! I envisioned for weeks in my mind that I wanted to look exactly how I did for the casual look. I bought this cute top from Pink Lily. Honestly, it was the fringe that really made me make the purchase. I love a good sleeve detail. Also, I wanted an off white/cream colored sweater because I thought it would look beautiful against the autumn leaves. I know I mentioned above that I didn’t want to wear white; ivory /off-white is NOT white and also not a dress 🙂 I felt like a walking Ralph Lauren ad to be honest LOL. Loved it though and it was totally me.

For the dressier look, I didn’t have much luck until I stumbled upon a Facebook ad for a shop that I have never even heard of before. Just like the casual look, I had a specific vision in my head on how I wanted to look and I just couldn’t find the right dress! I knew I wanted a floral dress with a light background (again, an ivory/off white background), with long sleeves. I searched online for 2 weeks, and hours upon hours, with NO luck. I was wondering HOW stores didn’t have fall colored floral dresses out considering it was mid-September and some stores had Christmas décor out already! I found some amazing dresses but they weren’t long sleeves, or weren’t a long dress. Facebook must’ve heard my prayer LOL. I found the most gorgeous dress at Baltic Born! Definitely check them out if you haven’t. They have really adorable dresses and I will definitely be purchasing from them again. My dressier outfit is linked here along with some other pieces I love from them and that I think would look great as engagement photo-shoot dresses! Also linked is my “Mrs.” jean jacket with faux pearls. You can shop the jean jacket here. I bought it off Etsy! You can add your wedding date to the back of the collar (like it shows in the picture) OR you can ask the woman to add it under the “Future Mrs.” I did that and got our future wedding date in Roman Numerals!

I also was asked about my nail color. To go along with the autumn theme and the color of my bridesmaids dresses, I went with a “rust” color called “It’s a Piazza Cake” by Opi! Definitely a gorgeous color for the fall time! I linked that below as well.

All in all, I had a fantastic time at the photo-shoot! I loved how ALL the pictures came out and it took me a few days to pick a few for our Save the Dates! I am not posting the Save the Date pictures in this post but I will definitely share them with you when I order them and get them out to everybody!

Which picture do you like most?! I know, it is so hard to decide 🙂

I hope you all enjoyed this post. If you are a future Bride about to do her photo shoot- congrats and have a great time! If you are here just reading for fun- thank you for the support!!

Xo, 

Kristen

*Please note- I may make a small commission if you buy something from one of these links. I appreciate the support so much!