Kelley & Darrell The Themed Engagement

This past Sunday was the first in what I hope will be many themed engagement portrait sessions. I love doing engagement sessions. First it gives me an opportunity to work with the couple before the day of the wedding. This helps them get more comfortable with the way I work. It allows me a chance to see how they interact with each other and to see what they like. Overall it just makes this go smoother on the day of the wedding, which is never a bad thing! Because of all of this I include an engagement session as part of my wedding coverage. Those sessions last about an hour and include one location and one basic look. I really enjoy theses sessions and I have been able to get some really amazing images from them but I had the desire to do something more. I really wanted to take things to the next level. I wanted to create something that was truly unique and beyond what was being done anywhere else.

So here it is! Offered as an upgrade over the standard session is the Engaged Theme. Modeled after a true fashion shoot, the Engaged Theme uses multiple locations, multiple outfits, professional hair, professional make up, props, and stylization. I will help each couple create a vision that is fun and that tells their story in a way that is totally unique. There is no time limit on the shoot. There is no end to the possibilities (take a look at my Pinterest board for some ideas I have for other shoots).

For the very first one we stylized the shoot after the movie, The Notebook. The couple is Kelley Wood and Darrell Stafford, who will be getting married next October. Kelley is herself a very talented photographer (check out her website here) which only adds to the pressure on me to make sure this is perfect! Kelley, my wife Kelly (note the difference in spelling, I just called her Snow on the day of the shoot to avoid confusion), and I worked together to plan shoot ideas and concepts.

For the boat scene we searched far and wide to come up with a suitable boat. We wanted something that would look period correct (1940's) and it had to be able to actually go in the water. Ones that we found that looked right would have sunk and watertight ones just looked too modern. Finally, as if by divine intervention, Kelly and I while scouting locations, went into Full Circle and lovely boutique shop off Clarimont ave in Birmingham. There we met Katie who just so had the perfect boat for our needs!

For wardrobe we went to Zoe's Vintage Clothing Consignment shop which is right next to Full Circle. Darrell's hat came from there and a couple of Kelley's dresses and accessories came from there. This place is amazing and there was nothing else like it in Birmingham! (With Halloween coming up they are a great place to look for costumes.)

Jennifer Matthews of Porcelain and Pink did Kelley's make up. I have worked with Jennifer before and she always does amazing work. She uses an airbrush technique that not only looks flawless but is also really durable. It survived the water that we sprayed Kelley with amazingly well!

For hair, Jessica Lazarus of Joelle Salon took over. She not only did amazing work but she did it amazingly fast! Because we were shooting at multiple locations and coordinating with multiple vendors, not to mention racing the sun, time was always at a premium. The first location was Oak Mountain Park where we shot with the boat, then we shot a simulated rain scene in the same outfit. Jessica had to do her hair once for the first look and then again after we got her soaking wet so we could go onto the next location! She was a true professional and we were on our way in no time.

Our next location was the historic Arlington Home in Birmingham. This is one of the few antebellum homes in the Birmingham area. It was the perfect setting for the story of the movie. The light was perfect, the location was perfect, and of course the couple was perfect. The only problem was that we were only given ten minutes to shoot! No problem I said! So very quickly we went through our shots. Since we were so limited on time James Coates of Coates Classic Cars offered the use of his beautiful home. We were already using his newest car, a stunning 1952 Buick Special with only 47,000 original miles, so it worked out perfectly!

After doing some shots at James' house we followed him in the Buick to the Historic Alabama Theater. What an beautiful place. Again, a perfect setting for the story. Kelley and Darrell actually laid down in the street for some images and danced for others.

I will say that I am very proud of the finished product. Everything came together perfectly and we all had a lot of fun putting it together. I cannot wait for the next one!

Darrell looks on as Kelley gets her make up done by Jennifer Matthews of Porcelain and Pink

Jennifer uses an airbrush method of applying the foundation on Kelley. Jennifer did an amazing job and I have never seen anything quite like this process. Even after getting Kelley soaking wet her make up was still nearly flawless. I cannot imagine anything better!

Jessica Lazarus of Joelle Salon did an amazing job on Kelley's hair as you can see in the images. It was really great to work with this team of beauty professionals. They really did make my job easier!

Here is the boat we rented from Full Circle in Birmingham. As you can see it wasn't very big, in fact I was able to carry it by myself! What it lacked in size it certainly made up for in character. My wife and assistant, Kelly, did an amazing job helping make sure they were stable and didn't take an early swim. I cannot sing her praises enough!

This image was created by Kelly spraying down Darrell and Kelley in my front yard with a garden hose to simulate rain. I will have to say that I am very impressed with this couple. Not many people would want to be hosed down in October for a picture. I am so glad that they did because the results speak for themselves!

Dating back to the 1840's, Arlington House, is one of the few antebellum houses in Birmingham. It provided for a beautiful backdrop and was a perfect fit for the story we were telling. Special thanks to James Coates of Coates Classic Cars for getting us access!

I was very proud to be the first one to do a shoot with Coats Classic Cars newest addition, a 1952 Buick.

Our final location was the Historic Alabama Theater in downtown Birmingham. Thanks again go to James Coates for bringing down the Buick and for turning on the lights. He was a huge part of the success of this shoot. We simply could not have done it without him!

Again, what an amazingly adventurous couple! Kelly was looking out for oncoming cars as they laid down in the road on 3rd ave!

What a perfect ending to a beautiful day with a beautiful couple. Darrell took Kelley by the hand and they began to dance. It was such a sweet and impromptu moment that was so fitting and so touching!

Please feel free to comment! The rest of the images will be up on the main website soon and I will post an update when they are. Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!

Kelley Wood
Darrell Stafford
Kelly Daspit
Jennifer Matthews of Porcelain and Pink
Jessica Lazarus of Joelle Salon
James Coates of Coates Classic Cars
Alabama Theater
Katie Gaston of Full Circle
Zoe's Consignment Vintage Clothing
Arlington Home