By now this might seem like the biggest blog tease ever, but you better believe this year’s Fashion & Beauty e-mag is totally worth the wait. And in the meantime, we’ve managed to scout out one of the most stylish engagement to ever hit the pages of SMP. It what happens when LA fashion blogger Her Imajination, her handsome beau, and KT Merry team up for a shoot straight from e-sesh heaven. And wanna know a secret? We’re completely, madly, absurdly obsessed. Find every single image waiting right here.
From Annie of Her Imajination… Going into 2 years of our relationship, Tad drove me up along the coast to Carmel where he got on one knee, popped the question and I said, “yes”! During our trip, I instantly fell in love with the beautifully quaint scenery and knew right away that I wanted to come back to Northern California for our wedding. Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez were our top picks, but realized these destinations would be too far for our guests. Having to scratch the idea of getting married outside of Los Angeles, we thought our engagement shoot would be the perfect chance to capture some of our moments to cherish at one of these destinations.
We both fell in love with the romantic, rustic scenery of Santa Ynez. So, when it came to looking for a spot for our engagement photos it was a no brainer! Our photographer KT Merry was also going to be in the area, which worked out perfectly! It almost seemed as if it was all meant to be, so without hesitation we set our engagement shoot for Santa Ynez.
Having set the location, my only “to do” list before the shoot was to pick out the outfits. Even days before our engagement shoot, I wasn’t quite sure what to wear. However, I knew I wanted outfits with dimension, texture and detailing, complimented with the right accessories to add richness to the photos — something I’ve learned over the course of blogging. Keeping that in mind, I started to build out a few looks. Coming close to the day of our engagement shoot, I shared with KT the looks I was going for and she knew exactly which locations would suit the outfits in Santa Ynez — Sunstone Winery and Figueroa Mountains.
Sunstone Winery was one of the venues we were looking to get married, so it was perfect that we got the opportunity to shoot there. With the soft backgrounds of the villa and the winery, I wanted something classic, formal and bold. My mother’s vintage Oscar de la Renta skirt was exactly that, if not more! So, we worked everything from Tad’s outfit to my jewelry around that skirt. The skirt definitely was a special addition and was even more special to me that something of my mother’s belonging was able to be a part of the pictures.
For our second location, knowing we would be surrounded by nature in the Figueroa Mountains, we wanted to blend with the backdrop for a softer, relaxed, romantic look and feel. To keep from looking too washed out, I chose a dress that had embroidery and beading details and added a gold pearl jeweled hairpiece as an accent piece while Tad balanced out my soft look with stripes with pops of grey. For a personal touch, we brought along my bike “Tofu,” to add a little character to our photos. The Figueroa Mountains scouted by KT was so breathtaking and magical that everything tied in so magically. The sun shined perfectly over the fields giving it a gold glitter effect while providing the perfect soft lighting.
Our amazing photographer, KT Merry, not only chose the perfect locations for our engagement session in Santa Ynez, but captured breathtakingly beautiful memories we will forever cherish. Everything that day was perfect and we couldn’t have asked for a better location and photographer!
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Photography: KT Merry | Venue: Sunstone Winery | Bike: Linus Bike | Annie’s Winery Outfit: Top: Diane von Furstenberg, Skirt: Mother’s vintage Oscar de la Renta, Bracelet: J.Crew, Shoes: Emporio Armani | Tad’s Winery Outfit: Suit: John Varvatos, Shirt + Shoes: Hugo Boss, Tie: Theory | Annie’s Mountain Outfit: Dress: Free People, Bracelet: J.Crew, Shoes: YSL, Hairpiece: Unknown | Tad’s Mountain Outfit: Shirt: James Perse, Cardigan: Bloomingdales, Pants: James Perse, Shoes: John Varvatos