It’s fall in Alabama and you know what that means? You’re either going to have a gorgeous, crisp day or you’re going to have a hot and humid day. On this particular Saturday evening we lucked out! The day was beautiful and the humidity was nonexistent! We arrived at Dayspring Farm Wedding and Event Venue, in Springville, Alabama a little ahead of our couple. We had never been there, so naturally we wanted to scope out the land and plan our time with Abby & Luke so that we could maximize their engagement session.
As we drove through the entrance and up the lovely white fence lined drive, we could see pasture land from every direction, dotted with horses on one side and grazing cows on the other. The beautiful giant oak trees and southern pines outlined the pastures and the pond on the grassy slope that the sun would set against later in the evening. We parked at the adorable red barn, looked at each other and knew this was going to be a special engagement session!
We talked with the owner of the venue, Jaqueline, who was so sweet and accommodating, and she gave us permission to have pretty much full run of the property. She did tell us that we could just follow the road as far as we wanted but to know that the road past the hay barn would get narrow and if we continued on we would end up having to back all the way out due to the narrowing of the road. So, where do you think we found the perfect spot to start our session…….at the very end of that very narrow road! We knew we could get out and we did! After a 10 point turn! But it was completely worth all the backing up and inching our way around. We also knew without even having to drive over to the other side of the little red barn, that we would be ending the session over at the horse pasture, by the pond, where the sun would be setting. As we arrived back at the barn, Abby & Luke had arrived and we were all ready to get started!
Abby & Luke had chosen to go casual for a couple of perfectly legit reasons. 1. It was a farm setting and wanted to keep the outdoorsy feel and (most importantly) 2. It suited their personality. And folks, that’s what it’s ALL about. Staying true to yourselves when choosing your session outfits. If you’re happy and comfortable, THAT is what is going to reflect in your images! We invited them into our vehicle so that we could take them to the magical, secluded and very private area that we had found. Oh, and did we mention that we sometimes tote a plush, velvet, cobalt blue love seat with us?? Yeah, so we had unloaded that earlier and set it up to add a little umph to the day! We love doing the little (or big) extras for our couples!).
Now, on to Abby & Luke! These two, y’all, are the most adorable couple! Luke, the smarty pants, studying Civil Engineering at UAB, with his red hair and fun socks (we LOVE when guys where fun socks!) and Abby, who is going to make an AMAZING nurse, with a laugh and a smile that just makes you feel so good and both of their personalities made this session so enjoyable! You know when you’re around people that just make you feel good and you just want to stay with them and feed off of the love that they radiate? That was our time with these two! So, we forewarned them that we would be keeping them until the sunlight would not allow us one more shot (like dark)!!
The property at Dayspring Farm is so beautiful and Luke & Abby were, well, perfect, that we didn’t really need anything to add to this. HOWEVER, Abby brought a couple of throws (perfect) and A FLOPPY HAT! If you only purchase one thing for your engagement session, make it a floppy hat (thank you, Abby’s mom!!)!!! It is the very best accessory to add just the right touch to any photo! And not just photos, everyone should wear a floppy hat all the time. They’re just so cute! And, guys, fun socks are a must!! We love that we found out that apparently Luke only owns fun socks! They’re just the best! The socks AND Luke & Abby!
As we expected we pushed our time down the narrow road at the farm as long as we could! We then loaded back in the Jeep to head to the horses, the pond with the gentle slope and the setting sun! We left the couch because we knew we could go back and get it in the dark! We didn’t want to waste a single minute of daylight!
When we got back to the barn we were a little unsure how to exactly get to the horse pasture so we asked a couple of the ladies there and they stopped what they were doing and literally walked us down there AND went into the gate to get the horses to come up to us! This took a little bit of time and they were so, so, very sweet to help us out! Everyone we encountered at Dayspring Farm was just the best!!
As we had warned/promised Abby & Luke, we did end up keeping them until our cameras said there was no more light to work with! But boy did we get a load of incredible shots?! Yes, yes we did!
Sometimes an engagement session takes the collaboration of several people to make everything work out. In this case, as we mentioned, everyone at Daysprings Farm was so helpful and nice and we cannot wait to work with them again at their beautiful farm!! Thank you, again, Abby’s mom, for making her bring the hat! Thank you, Abby’s sister, for your great taste in booties…I hope that you know that she wore them, lol! Then, of course, there is Abby & Luke! Thank you guys so much for allowing us to play such an important role in one of the most important events in your life!! We are grateful for your trust in us!
Katie & Cindy
