Downtown Fairhope, AL Engagement

Thunderstorms arrived in Fairhope at the exact time we were supposed to start Sarah and Mason’s engagement session. I can usually work around rain, but I don’t take risks with lightning. So we visited over coffee and tea at Page and Palette while we waited for the rain to slacken. It wasn’t the usual way I begin engagement sessions, but I enjoyed having that time to get to know them both.

Sarah and Mason have the sweetest love story. They met in high school band. Sarah says she didn’t notice Mason until she found herself sitting in the row in front of him. Mason says he tried to teach her to play the saxophone in an attempt to woo her. Even before he worked up the courage to ask Sarah out, Mason always knew how to make her laugh. Finally, six Septembers ago, Mason asked Sarah out after the Homecoming game. They’ve been together ever since.

After all this time, Mason still knows how to make Sarah laugh. I loved capturing that! It was a good thing they were so at ease in front of the camera because we had to really make up for time lost due to the rainstorm. It was still lightly raining when we ventured outside. Thankfully, I always keep a clear umbrella in my car just in case of situations like this! We walked outside of the bookstore and I saw the most perfectly placed, mint green moped parked outside. It made downtown Fairhope look like we could have been in Italy!

I could have stayed in this spot for ages because the light was so pretty coming through the rain, but I knew we wanted to make it down to the pier before sunset. We quickly took some portraits near the moped before moving on. Can you believe that right as we started walking away, the owner of the moped came outside and drove off. If we’d gone outside 10 minutes later it wouldn’t have been there at all!! And these turned out to be some of my favorite portraits of the shoot!

After the rain stopped completely we had some gorgeous golden light until the sun dipped behind a distant storm cloud. I was actually thankful for that cloud because it created the perfect conditions for some beautiful portraits down on the bay! The sky and water had such a blue tint due to the storm, which perfectly complemented Sarah and Mason’s outfits! I love it when the stars align like this!

Because we were a bit pressed for time, I ended up not getting to shoot Sarah’s engagement ring in the roses as I’d planned before the sunset. Thankfully, I always keep a reflector in my trunk and, with Mason’s help, I was able to get those ring shots even after our daylight was completely gone. I am so thankful for clients that don’t think I’m crazy when I make suggestions like shooting in the rain, or taking ring shots after sunset. Because Sarah and Mason were so trusting, I got just as many portraits for them as I do at every engagement session. We just had to hustle a bit to do it and it was so worth it!

Busy season really kicked off this week with three engagement sessions on three back-to-back days! Stay tuned for some more engagement session previews later this week! If you’re recently engaged, I’d love to chat with you about being your Mobile Alabama wedding photographer! Contact me to schedule your consultation today!