Engagement Shoot

Wade and I recently did an engagement shoot with our crazy talented photographer, Scott, one Sunday afternoon because, well... because we could. It was such a gorgeous day, and we went to these hidden away little gardens in Mount Tambourine that I had never heard about, and ended up having a complete blast. As in, we didn't stop laughing the entire time. So our photos ended up comprising of lots of shots of us cracking up, and a few shots of us trying to look serious and dreamy and in love - but failing miserably because we were trying not to laugh.

In any case, I love these photos because they are just us all over. I have so much fun with Wade, and we never stop laughing when we're together. And I love how these photos reflect that. So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorites!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Heather

Our Engagement Party!

At the beginning of the year, when we first got engaged, Wade's parents asked us if we were going to have an engagement party. At the time, some pretty sad / crazy things were happening with my family. A big one was that my grandma (the only family I have in Australia outside of my immediate family) had just gone in to hospital, and we didn't know if or when she would be getting out. So I told them I didn't think it would be possible. I knew that just organizing a wedding would be a huge ask for my parents and sisters. But Wade's parents were pretty insistent that we would be missing out on something if we didn't have an engagement party, and so they offered to host it. Which was, might I just say, amazing of them. We decided to have a very intimate party with just family who lived locally and close friends - especially those who we knew would be out of the country for the wedding. After a drizzly and cold week, I started questioning our decision to have the party at our local park. But the day before the party,  the sun came out, and it turned out to be the most beautiful weekend of the whole Winter! At the last minute, I decided to set up a volleyball net at the park because I knew that most of the people we had invited were volleyball enthusiasts (including myself and Wade). This turned out to be a massive hit (pardon the pun), and I don't know if I'll ever throw a party without a volleyball net again! What made the party extra special for me were the speeches, and the fact that my uncle and little cousin flew out all the way from England to come to the party. So there were two extra Lloyds at our engagement party - which is a huge deal.

I hope your weekend was as beautiful as mine!

- H

Engagement Session Wears

Wade and I have an engagement session booked in September with our very talented photographer, Scott. We had a little mini session right after we got engaged with Vivid Photography that was incredibly fun, but unfortunately because of the package we didn't get a disc of the images - only prints of our favorites. I'm happy we did it, though because it's really nice to have some pictures from when we first got engaged, whereas the shoot with Scott will be only a couple of months before the wedding.

The mini session was great, too, because I learned what I liked and didn't like about what I wore. I wore a really cute vintage-inspired tea dress that I bought from Dotti for only $10! Here's me wearing it at Elora's high tea. Super cute, right?

Unfortunately the lining of the underskirt showed in a couple of the really gorgeous photos, plus I think it was a little bit shorter than I thought it was. Not as timelessly classy as I wanted!

My hairdresser Kylie - who, by the way I would highly recommend! - styled my hair right before the shoot, and I, for some reason, requested it to be styled down. Even though my hair was / is at that awkward "growing-out" length where it's too long to be a cute bob, and too short to look like an elegant long bob. Plus, I almost always wear my hair up, because I hate using straighters and curling irons on my hair in the morning. So it wasn't very me.

Anyway, I was browsing Pinterest looking for engagement session inspiration when I found this image from the most gorgeous engagement session I've ever seen:

So now I'm on the lookout for a cream dress! Let me know if you see any.

- H

Engagement Fiesta Planning

When we got engaged, we didn't know if we wanted to have an engagement party. Don't get me wrong, I love a good party. Ask anyone in my family - if there is an occasion to throw a party, I will take it. I just didn't know if we could find the time to plan one! But then we discovered that quite a few family members and friends wouldn't be able to make our November wedding date. But they could come halfway through the year. And so we decided to have a party to celebrate!

Now we're two months out and in the throes of party planning. I figure there are only going to be very few occasions when we'll be lucky enough to be surrounded by all of our closest friends and family - so we're going to do this party right. And by right, I mean, kick off your heels, drink a Margarita, and whack a pinata. That's right! We're having a fiesta! Here's a roundup of my favorite Mexican-themed engagement party ideas.

via Hostess with the Mostess

via First Time Fancy

via Kasey Loftin Photography

via Sweet Chic Events

via Utterly Engaged

via Juneberry Lane

via Modern Hostess

Just looking at all of the possibilities makes my head spin with possibilities!

- H