Matt & Shelley : Engagement | McGowan Images Blog

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Matt & Shelley : Engagement

A couple weeks after we’d settled on a plan for Shelley & Matt’s engagement session, I got an email from this lovely bride to be. It simply stated, “I want art. I want you guys to be able to do something amazing, and I want to do whatever it’s going to take for you guys to do that FOR us.” And that email, well, it just kind of made my day. Because while Mack and I adore photographing simple, loved-up, sunlit & snuggly engagement sessions, sometimes it’s so good for our creative spirits to have the opportunity to branch out and do something different. We’re SO grateful that Shelley & Matt were willing to invest in us and in their engagement session, and give us the figurative creative space we needed to create this incredible collection!

The first half of this session was photographed at Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, and the crew there was SO helpful & accomodating. This kind of dramatic & involved production is right up Mack’s alley, and he had a blast talking to the maintenance crew about exactly how to position the plane, and then setting all his crazy lights up juuuuust the way he wanted them. These more stylized images are definitely more work, and a group effort, so we appreciated everyone’s patience while we got it dialed in perfectly.

Another note of thanks needs to go to Rayven, with Beauty & The Blush, who did Shelley’s amazing hair & makeup styling for both parts of this engagement session. Between that little extra bump of gorgeousness, and our bride & groom’s awesome wardrobe choices, they perfectly embodied the retro feeling we were going for, and it suits them (and their aviation-heavy lives) just perfectly!

Enjoy our favorite images!

Obviously, there’s a big difference in the end result when we bust out the big lights vs. when we shoot all natural. This shoot has a healthy helping of both styles, and I couldn’t possibly choose which I like more!

Matt, I mean, DUDE. You’re just such a stud. No wonder that pretty girl is all up in your personal space. 😉

I mean, it’s just so FUN, right?? Definitely loving all that first half had to offer.

But even when we toned down the styling, and went to a park we lovingly refer to as “Old Faithful”, we still adored this session. The way Shelley & Matt love each other is just a joy to photograph. At one point, she just matter-of-factly stated, “He’s my home”. And I had to quickly move on to the next spot so I didn’t embarrass myself with sentimental tears.

Shelley’s a big laugher, so obviously, she’s on my favorites list.

Perfection. You guys, thanks for making our week. We’re so excited to spend our 6th wedding anniversary shooting YOUR big day, at one of our favorite venues. It’s a match made in photog heaven. 🙂

  1. Shelley says:

    I’m just dying over these!! Seriously dying. Art indeed, my friends. You guys nailed it – these feel just like us. So, so happy!

  2. lyncca says:

    Beautiful work! Love the use of flash, but all of the session rocked 🙂

  3. Leesa says:

    LOVE the Flight Museum photos!!! Phenomenal… seriously.

  4. Vanja says:

    You guys did an awesome job. Her dress couldn’t have been more perfect for that shoot. And the use of lights really made it pop next to that yellow plane. As always, beautiful work!

  5. Angie says:

    SO fun! I think my favorite is the one where she’s reflected in his glasses – but this is just such a fun shoot! I love when you guys do something so out of the box like this 🙂

  6. Toi says:

    I love the bright colors! The bright yellows, blues, and green grass make a beautiful backdrop. Great job!

  7. Kendall says:

    SHUT. UP. these are too pretty! Shelley, I am so very happy for you guys and thrilled that you picked pretty much the best photos ever! The styling, the colors, that light? I can’t.

  8. Shut the front door. These are amazing!!!! Love love love the plane ones. Like, seriously and completely and utterly love. End of story.

  9. Heather says:

    Gah! Shelley has the *best* happy face! Love the crinkled nose smiles! Such love in that face! My fav photo from the airplane shoot was probably the sunglasses reflection photo. So cool!

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