Ashley & Joshua's Fall Engagement Session at Kriz Farms in Bethany, CT

Guys…. Let’s talk about my engagement photos… I’M AWKWARD! No one prepares you for the level of weird that is the Engagement Session. Now I am not talking about the photographer – because let’s be real, Athena is a Godsend – but I thought it would be so natural to cozy up with my fiance – LOL nope!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? First, we thought that it would be so precious and special to have our photos done at a Christmas tree farm with twinkle lights and plaid blankets (Pinterest clearly spoke to me and inspired my Christmas crazy DNA to set aflame) – like how cute would that be?! So, we set the time and place, picked out cute outfits and we were ready to go. On the big day we pull up to this farm, that looked perfect online, and… there were 4 trees left ... whomp, whomp. Talk about a plot twist. 

Thank goodness that they had the landscape and friendly farm animals to make up for the tree loss – otherwise my heart would have been broken. Anyway – we decided to start out on the edge of the farm and as soon as we got there I looked blankly at Athena, laughed, and was like “Um… what now?” I had no idea what I was doing and neither did Joshua. You’re in a strange place with a camera on you, trying to look all romantic and whatnot  but you sort of react like Will Farrell in Talladega Nights. 

After about twenty mins of feeling like this and tons of guidance/posing from Athena, Joshua and I started to loosen up and get the hang of it. We walked along the field and found a really cool logging area, which made for a spectacular backdrop that I never would have thought to use (it’s true what they say – TRUST your photographer!). As we wandered around there was the sweetest old horse who waltzed right up to us and let us fawn all over him. It was such a cool surprise and so awesome to have him be a part of the session! 

Moral of the story and my advice to all the couples out there – DO the engagement session! While it was uncomfortable and awkward for the first part, it truly helps you get to know the camera and will make you better prepared for your big day. Also, you get to hang out with your photographer and get to know their style too, which only made me feel more comfortable. We ultimately had such a blast that afternoon and got back some amazing sneak peek images just in time for Christmas – which was honestly the best gift we could have received. So get out there and schedule that e-sesh – I promise it’ll be worth it in the end! 

photography © 2018 | Athena Bludé Photography