It was HOT, it was HUMID and rain threatened. It was a typical September Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama as far as the weather was concerned. BUT what made this day special was the fact that we were meeting up with Molly & Matt for their engagement session. Molly & Matt chose to do the first part of their session at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. We love the gardens!! There is such a great variety of areas to get some amazing shots! But to be honest, these two could’ve picked anywhere and the images would’ve been incredible. Molly was ahead of the game. She read our style guide and followed it perfectly and came prepared to knock this session out of the park. Her adorable navy jumper was enough to get excited about BUT when she pulled out the cutest caramel colored floppy hat AND a fresh floral bouquet, we knew this was going to be a great day!
Matt had never been to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. He currently lives in Montgomery and has actually lived all around the south. We’re not sure that he paid that much attention to the beauty of it all but we do hope that he saw enough to want to go back one day with Molly and see all the wonders it has to offer. We started at The Leaf and Petal at the Gardens shop where they have everything from succulents and mums to pumpkins! YES, they had put the pumpkins out which added the perfect little fall touch to the scene. We got several great shots there before we moved on to some of the other areas. We moved on to the rose garden but had to come back to that a little later due to the fact that there was a wedding going on!! How perfect is that? It certainly added to the theme of our day! We moved around all of the visitors with ease and as we walked around finding other spots to capture these two, we talked and learned a little more about them. The first thing we learned was that Matt is hilarious! He has a quick whit with just the right amount of sarcasm. After only a short amount of time with them we already felt like old friends. Sometimes it takes the guy a little longer to loosen up and accept the fact that they are spending their Sunday afternoon posing for pictures and getting used to PDA, but Matt went into this day with the best of attitudes!! A great sense of humor makes all the difference and we appreciate it so much!
Our time at the Gardens seemed to fly by and before we knew it the sky was looking a little like rain so we decided we had better move on to the second location that Molly & Matt picked which was a parking deck downtown that happens to be a very popular spot for photo shoots. The sun was hiding behind the clouds when we left the Gardens but as we reached the parking deck the clouds parted and the sun rays stretched out across the sky just for us! As we pulled up to the top of the deck there was (what we thought) a photographer taking some pictures of a young lady with the Redmond Hotel in the background. Nothing unusual, we see this all the time. Like we said, this is a hot spot for photography. Then, on up the deck we spot 2 more photographers. We didn’t pay much attention, we just concentrated on finding our own spot. But before we knew it the two photographers at the top started to converge on the young lady and the other photographer. We then realized we were witnessing a surprise proposal!!! A wedding at the Gardens and now a surprise proposal! Love was definitely in the air! What a perfect way to start the second part of Molly and Matt’s session! We were all in the zone! Molly & Matt changed into their 2nd outfit and they were looking good. Molly in her soft rose tinted wrap dress with her perfectly matching earrings. This girl knows how to accessorize! Then Matt looking all sharp in his navy suit and crisp white shirt. They looked stunning!
Not only did the sun peek through just for us but the wind was assisting in making just the perfect movement to Molly’s hair. Too much wind can spell disaster but on this particular day the wind was our friend…. and a good one! Watching Molly & Matt through our lens was a little like watching a little love story unfold with all the special effects. Toss in some of Matt’s humor and it was the total package! It was so sweet! We’re a little sad that this cute couple won’t tie the knot until June, 2019 but when they do it will be like meeting up with old friends again!
Thank you, Molly & Matt, for inviting us into your world for a little bit to capture some special moments! We are counting down the days until we get the opportunity to meet up with you again, to illustrate the next chapter in the beginning of your lives together!
Katie & Cindy
