Never had I imagined that our engagement photos could have been done in the desert of Superstition Mountain. Truth be told, I pictured our engagement photos being done locally, perhaps at the very winery where we would be getting married. However, when the opportunity arose for a destination shoot we couldn't say no.
After Evan and I got engaged at the end of April, 2018 Evan had to start his "externships". This meant that for nearly a year he would be moving to a different state each month to study at a a hospital there. It was a difficult time for both of us having to be so far apart and for Evan, not feeling as though he could settle down before he had to pick up and move again. However, we tried to make the most of it.
We were trying to nail down a date when we would be available for an engagement shoot with our photographer, Katelyn Rowan, but it began to seem as though an engagement session may not be logistically possible. It was when Katelyn threw out the idea for a destination shoot that things began to get exciting. We went through all of the different places that Evan would be and decided Phoenix, AZ was our location.
Now that the date and the general location was chosen I had to start planning our outfits and the exact spot for our photos. Through much research we decided on Superstition Mountain, a picturesque desert location outside of Phoenix. It had red rock mountains, cacti and open areas. It seemed almost as though it was created as a set.
As for the outfits, Evan wore almost exclusively Express: navy blue slim fit pants, white button up shirt and a brown belt and shoes that he already owned. Mine was a bit more complicated. I had seen a long, baby blue chiffon dress with spaghetti straps, pleated V neckline and slit down the middle. To my dismay this dress was a designer wedding gown that was WAY out of the budget. I tirelessly looked through what felt like every dress available on the planet only to know in my heart that I needed the blue one.
Now, what I did next was a risk but it payed off. As you may know, there are online stores, often domiciled in China, who "recreate" dresses for a more affordable price. Believe it or not, one of those sites had the exact dress I had my heart set on. For roughly $80 I purchased that baby blue chiffon dress and impatiently awaited it's arrival for assessment.
When the dress arrived in the mail I couldn't wait to put it on. The fabric was gorgeous, the color was perfect and the overall look was extremely similar to my dream dress. The only thing I had to do was have the top taken in a bit (it actually needed to be taken in more but it would have compromised the structure of the dress). I couldn't believe how lucky I had gotten!
I paired my gown with a pair of nude strappy faux leather heels from Amazon which cost around $20. I will say that I recommend a cheap pair of shoes for an outdoor photoshoot like we had because the rocks, gravel and terrain we climbed that day completely ruined them (not mad about it, it was TOTALLY worth it!).
The day of the photoshoot I watched a makeup tutorial and did my own. I used mostly drugstore brands and did not contour at all for a more natural look (and because I don't know how!). My hair was curled with a 1" barrel (I love the brand Hot Tools) and I pinned it up with a hairnet until just before we began our session to keep the curls lasting as long as possible.
We shot for a few hours and right when it turned dark we packed up and left. We not only got to see incredible landscape and have a wonderful time, we have the most amazing engagement photos that we get to keep thanks to Katelyn Rowan Photography.
Here are some more pictures from the shoot.
Photographer: Katelyn Rown, Katelyn Rowan Photography: https://www.katelynrowanphotography.com
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