Des Moines Winter City Engagement Session - Laura & Derek

I photographed Laura’s older sister wedding at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and was so excited when Laura reached out to me for her own wedding day at Toast Ankeny!

All of Derek and Laura’s major relationship milestones happen in the winter and in the city, so it made sense they take their engagement photos in the winter in the city as well. They also brought their mini Bernedoodle Norman for a few pictures which I loved! If you have pets, engagement sessions are a great time to get family photos 😊

Their engagement session is a great example that you can have vibrant photos even in the winter time when things aren’t quite looking like the winter wonderland we all envision and see on Pinterest. See for yourself below!

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10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Your Engagement Session

1. Do I feel comfortable in my outfits?

There is nothing worse than tugging/adjusting your outfit every few minutes. When you feel comfortable you will be naturally more relaxed and get professional photos that feel like you. Just to be clear, comfortable doesn’t mean you can’t dress up. If you feel super comfortable in a form fitted dress - rock it!

2. Am I picking out my outfit to please someone else or because I love the outfit?

Trends are fun and who doesn’t love being complimented on your outfit? But if you are so focused on pleasing others you most likely will look back on the photos and be disappointed in what you chose. Don’t try to please your mom when picking out an outfit. My advice is think of what you enjoy wearing within your closet and pick what feels like your best self/the most confident in.

3. Does my ring need cleaned?

Getting your ring cleaned is free at the store you purchased it from and most jewelry shops and will make a big difference in close ups!

4. Do I need/want to order anything for my session?

Maybe you have your eye on a specific dress or want to order new shoes - be sure to order it enough in advance so you aren’t scrambling the day of because your package hasn’t arrived yet.

5. Do I want to get my hair and makeup professionally done?

If you don’t enjoy doing your makeup and hair yourself save up and treat yourself to getting them done professionally. Or you can use this session as a time to trial your wedding day hair or makeup. Or if you have a friend that loves doing hair and makeup reach out to them and see if they’d be willing to do yours!

6. Do I want to include any props?

Props could be champagne for a champagne pop, a piece of furniture, flowers, your favorite snack/food, or your favorite drinks and are a fun way to incorporate your personality in your session.

7. Have shared my expectations or anything special I want to include in my session with my photographer?

Maybe you have a specific vision or want specific photos. Be sure to tell your photographer this! The worst thing you can do is assume they already know what you are thinking - this always leads to dissapointment.

8. Do I want to include my pet?

Your engagement session is a great time to include pets and get a few quality professional photos with your furry friends. Or if you want to have an in-home session a great way to include your entire life into.

9. Are there any sentimental spots I want to include in my engagement session?

Where you met/first hit it off, your first date spot, go to date spot, or proposal site are all great places to incorporate your engagement session

10. Do I want to take off work and make an afternoon/day of my session?

Make an entire day of it or go on a date after your engagement session. Use the engagement session as an excuse to take the day off and get some extra quality time together. Life is too short not to 😊

Important things couples don’t always know to think about *before* their wedding day

Time is the number one underestimated thing on wedding days. There is never enough time. The day will fly by and it’s common for things to take longer than expected - hair, makeup, corralling family members for family photos, traveling from one venue to a next, the receiving line, etc.

Below are common issues I see on wedding days that in hind sight could have easily been avoided if thought out fully before hand. Disclaimer: every wedding has something that doesn’t seem to go as planned. We are all human and things happen. BUT with simple planning and thinking through some of the not so fun moments of the day will help keep issues from popping up and surprising you on your wedding day 🙂

Hair & Makeup

Important questions to consider…

Do you have enough stylists for your wedding party?

Are you starting early enough for what you want?

If each person’s hair takes 30 minutes and makeup also takes 30 minutes and you have 10 people who need both done that is 600 minutes total. So you would need a minimum of a 4 person team to get it done in under 3 hours.

Make sure you think about the order. If you want your mom or maid of honor’s hair and makeup to be done for getting ready photos make sure they are closer to the top of the list. Make sure things are delegated to non core members of your bridal party and getting ready to ensure you aren’t waiting on them to get your day started and so they can relax and enjoy the day along side of you.

If you want a first look with all your bridesmaids fully dressed, all hair and makeup will need to be complete by the scheduled first look time. You might be thinking duh Megan after reading, this but I’ve had to wait 30+ minutes before because this wasn’t thought out before the day of.

Reading Letters/Vows

If you want your videographer to capture you speaking letters or any special words out loud expect it to take at least 10 minutes per letter. You will also need a completely quiet room to do this.

Family Photos

Make sure every person knows where and when they need to be for family photos. It is not uncommon for one person to be running late or for someone to forget to tell one specific family member when to arrive for photos.

One huge way to help this issue, is to delegate a family or non-family member to be in charge of rounding up people for family photos. Having a designated point person will save a lot of time and stress when family photos happen especially if you have a lot of combinations or large families.

Driving Time

Do you have to drive from a getting ready space to the ceremony venue?

Do you have to drive from the ceremony venue to the reception venue?

Do you want to drive from the venue to a photo location?

If you answered yes to any of these questions make sure to map out the times of these. Each of these will add time to your day. If it takes 15 minutes delegate 25 extra minutes. The day of things always seem to take longer due to talking, all the moving parts of your day, looking for parking downtown, and walking time. It’s better to have extra 15 minutes (to breathe, sneak away, go to the bathroom, eat a snack) then to be running around running 30 minutes behind the entire day and feeling stressed.

Party Bus Travel Time

Party Buses always take long to get to venues than expected due to the bus not being able to go as fast and usually the driver taking the scenic route.

If you want your reception to start at 6pm and are going on a party bus from 5-6pm make sure to tell the driver you need to be back by 6pm at the latest.

If had busses be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour late to reception venues. Delegate someone on your bus as the time keeper to make sure you get to your venue on time.

Down Time

Do you have any downtime built into your timeline? If you don’t, you need it to take a breather, hydrate, eat, go to the bathroom or maybe you are an introvert and just need to sneak away for a solid 15 minutes just bride and groom after the ceremony. Scheduling this time is valuable and will pay off.

None of the above things are mind blowing. But they are commonly missed because of all the big things that need to be planned. Planning a wedding is a lot. The biggest thing you can do to prevent forgetting any of these things is by delegating. Delegation saves you time, tears and stress. Trust the people you hire and those closest to you and you won’t regret it. In my experience I’ve found it will help you let go and fully enjoy your wedding day. 🥰

Olivia & Grant Engagement Session

Olivia and I went to high school together. Grant and I played tennis together in college. So you can imagine my excitement when Olivia reached out to me and said her and Grant were engaged and wanted me to be their wedding photographer. 😀 I love when different parts of my life collide and I get the honor to document them! Both Olivia and Grant had such a calm and gentle presence and it truly reflected how perfect of a match they are for each other in the way the talked and treated each other during the session.

How cute is Finnegan? I’m convinced he is one of the goodest boys out there 🐶 🐾

Olivia wanted fall colors in their engagement photos and mother nature really hit that out of the park this last fall in Des Moines 🙂 I’m so excited to photograph them again on their wedding day this summer at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden!

A love letter to Des Moines

Dear Des Moines,

Some photographers love living in you, but escaping to epic locations to experience more. I love staying and adventuring in the heart of you. Some photographers love seeking out new locations, I love finding new ways to photograph your familiar spots. I love driving around your city and finding spots that people pass by every day without a second glance but shout, “photograph me!” the second I see them. I love turning ordinary, every day, spots into places couples will remember a lifetime. I love being surrounded by your city. I love that I can drive a few miles from downtown and be surrounded by complete nature. Des Moines you are special. Des Moines you deserves to be shown off. Des Moines you are just right. You’re not too big and not too small. I love finding couples who love Des Moines as much as I do. It’s my goal to become a Des Moines photography connoisseur. To know where all your secret (and not so secret) photography spots are. To know when the light is going to hit you just right. To know how to make the city that others think is small time shine. Some photographers dream of filling their schedule with travel. I dream of 10 couples who dream of having their wedding day in Des Moines. I never grow tired of you. I could never grow tired of you even if I tried. You simply are the best for me.

I love, you, Des Moines.

The best is yet to come for us.

<3 Megan