Musings on the importance of an Engagement Session PLUS Colette & Sean, and their Vista, Ca Casual Backyard Wedding

When I met Colette and Sean for the first time for our engagement session, I knew we were going to be a good fit! They walked up to me, hand in hand, Colette in a cute sundress and hat, Sean with his sun bleached hair and dazzling smile- the quintessential Southern California surfer couple.

Heres the thing about engagement photos!! Engagement sessions are always a great tell for how the wedding flow will go! You can learn a lot about a person and a couple by how they interact with each other during those small moments of picture-taking. If they are goofy, or more serious, if they worry about pricklies working their way inside their shoes, or if they just go with the flow, if they are affectionate or more reserved- how he grabs her hand to lead her through the giant patch of brush and weeds, etc. I love that we can get some amazing shots in the process, because seriously, who doesn’t want to have gorgeous engagement photos! But the real reward of doing an engagement session before the wedding, even if its just a mini session like Colette & Sean did, is it allows me a glimpse into who you are as a couple, and it makes it easier for me to shape the images that I take to be more representative of you both together! You also get a chance to get to know me, my style of posing -or ‘directing’ as I prefer to call it. I like to think of myself as more of a director than a poser. Find the great light, find the pretty spot, ask you to face each other, or hold hands, or snuggle nose to nose, and then let you take care of the rest! ‘Over-posing’ can lead to awkward hand placement or body language, makes you feel more forced, which will show up in your images- if you FEEL uncomfortable, you will LOOK uncomfortable! Some couples need more direction during this phase to help you loosen up- cue my random fart noises or silly comments to get you laughing. I have been known to shout out “BOOBIES!” on occasion to make you laugh. Dont judge- it works!!!

Ill add in a couple of Colette & Sean’s mini engagement session- as Colette told me that she is awkward and uncomfortable in photos, Sean didn’t mind either way. I thought they did a great job in these!!

EDITED TO ADD- HERE IS THEIR WEDDING FILM AS WELL!! I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT! These two are just so in love, and its was easy to see.

Click HERE to watch their Highlight film!

Now, onto their gorgeous wedding!! Sean and Colette got married in their good friends backyard in the foothills of Vista, Ca. Colette got ready at a beach condo in Oceanside with her bridesmaids and some family- which made a gorgeous backdrop for her hanging dress and detail photos! She got to have an intimate getting ready moment with her mother, as she put on her finishing touches and helped her put on her dress. We did a sweet first look with her dad, followed by a first look with Sean. The bridal party joined us after that, and we headed to a quick 10 minute photo session on the beach for some bridal party fun shots, and some romantic couple shots in the SUPER bright 2pm California sunshine!

*NOTE- having a second photographer for this wedding was VERY helpful, as the boys were getting ready at the venue, with the girls in the condo 30 min away. We were also running a bit behind, so we only have about 10 minutes on the beach before we needed to head out to the venue to start the ceremony on time. I try really hard to stick to the timeline- no wedding day has EVER run late on my account. So we split the boys and the girls up with the two photographers we had for the day during the beach portraits, then came together for the romantic shots on the beach.

After that, we all headed to Vista for the ceremony and reception! Instead of a traditional cake, they had HANDEL’S Ice cream on site for treats for their guests- and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I can’t wait til the next time I’m in Carlsbad to try more of their delicious flavors. Seriously the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life- and I LOVE ice cream (and eat a lot of it! haha!!) Check them out at https://handelsicecream.com !!!

The rest is pretty much history for Colette and Sean, a teary groom as his bride walked down the aisle toward him, tender vows spoke in private before the ceremony, and a great party with amazing food afterward! Enjoy looking through some the best moments of Sean & Colette’s wedding!

And in about 8 weeks, I hope to have their WEDDING HIGHLIGHT VIDEO done to add on here as well! YAY for photo and video!!!

Joie de Vivre!!!

Stefanie