5 Things I Learned Taking Engagements

"Nuckols? Really? If you marry him, you have to keep your last name."

That's what my mom told me when I first told her about Cameron, and now we really are getting married—on August twenty-first. My last name is going to be Nuckols in forty-six days, and I couldn't be more excited. Okay, maybe if Häagen-Dazs was catering, but I'm not a millionaire. 

We took our engagement photos a few weeks ago with Anna Killian, and she is absolutely incredible (link to her site at the bottom of this post). But as I was preparing for the photos, I had a hard time figuring out where to take them, what to wear, how to do my hair, how to do my makeup, etc. Lots of girly things that other people might scoff at but that seemed important to me. So, if you're having a hard time figuring those things out, let me tell you what I learned through the process. Take it or leave it.

1. Look like you. 

Please enjoy this excerpt from Tina Fey's book: Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes.

It's really easy to fall prey to such an impossible beauty standard and do things like hire a makeup artist, get a spray tan, get eyelash extensions, get hair extensions, buy a bunch of new clothes, or crash-diet for two weeks. I'm all for looking your best, but look your best—look like you. Everyone loves you for who you are, so don't make them say, "wait, who is this?" when they see your pictures.

2. Don't get too caught up in posing.

My favorite pictures turned out to be the unplanned ones.* Just hang out and have a good time together, and hopefully your photographer does as good of a job capturing that as mine did.

*Do a couple of traditional poses, just in case. 

3. Choose a versatile location.

At first I wanted to do something super original and avant-garde, but I never had enough time to think of something and plan it. That turned out to be good luck because the location we chose (just a little area next to a neighborhood) turned out to be perfect. Not all of our pictures look the exact same because we were able to just explore where we were. Don't be afraid to get a little dirty to get a good picture!

4. Don't overdo the number of outfits.

Honestly, you don't need a thousand amazing pictures: you have the rest of your lives together to get good pictures. Just bring a couple of outfits (we brought two), and focus more on being in love and having fun than worrying about your next outfit change.

5. Make sure you choose an awesome photographer—duh.

I don't think I even need to explain this one. Do your research. And if you live near Salt Lake, choose Anna.

Without further ado, here is the evidence that I am totally qualified to preach to all of you you about this subject (not).

Photography Credit: Anna Killian http://www.annamkillian.com/