Besides being absolutely obsessed with wedding day style, we also have the biggest heart-eyes over all the killer engagement looks we get to capture. We’ve rounded up the best style moments from all of our amazing couples for the sweetest lookbook around!
From the dreamy white dresses to the brightly colored numbers, engagement sessions are the perfect time to let your personal style shine through. Everything and anything goes, from gorgeous gowns to simple jeans paired with a sweater, engagement style is truly something we adore so dang much!
We’re so excited to see what new styles our couples bring to their sessions, we already know they’re going to be out of this world.
A Few of Our Favorite Featured Designers + Brands
Sleeper
Anthropologie
Free People
Lulus
The Vintage Vault by Joseph
Cleobella
Wolf and Badger
ASOS
Reformation
Revolve
Madewell
Express
Posse
We also ADORE when our couples shop second-hand from local and online thrift stores!!
Engagements by Alicia, Ashley, and Bre of Alicia Lucia Photography
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography
Bridal Inspo - Wedding + Engagement Rings
Even season we get to capture so many different couples and so many special love stories, but one of our favorite little details is getting to see all of the unique rings brides and grooms pick to express their love for each other!
From the simplest and most dainty diamond engagement rings to colorful gemstone rings, we’ve seen it all, but we’re always blown away by how stunning these beauties truly are in person and in photos. From custom rings to vintage rings, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to deciding on the perfect style for your hunny. For us, we love drooling over rings both online and in person, so we’ll take any chance to feature these gorgeous pieces of jewelry!
Scroll through this blog and find your new obsession, we won’t blame you if you bookmark a few of our favorite designers either!!!
A Few of Our Favorite Ring Designers + Boutiques
Trabert Goldsmiths
Brilliant Earth
deBella Jewelry
Zwikker & Zacher
Marisa Perry Atelier
Blue Nile Diamond
David Yurman
Michelle Fantaci
Octavia Elizabeth
Lauren Addison
Tiffany & Co.
Ashley Zhang
Vrai
Weddings + Engagements by Alicia, Ashley, Bre, and the ALP Team
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography
Engagement Inspo - FAQ
Earlier this year we collaborated with our pals at Rocky Mountain Bride for a collaborative feature on our favorite engagement session locations, you can view that here. Following that, we opened up a Q+A on our Instagram for your questions on all things engagement sessions. We’ve sat down and come up with answers to all of your pressing questions with this sweet little guide. Cheers to all the newly engaged babes out there, this special blog is just for you!
Q: What’s the best time of day for engagement photos?
We prefer the evening light at dusk and into blue hour. This is when the light is at its most golden and softest, thus creating a very neutral, flattering, and most evenly dimensional light to work with.
Q: How do you make sure your couples feels comfortable especially if one is more shy?
This scenario is actually very common and typically the norm, as we usually rarely have a couple where both the bride and groom are super outgoing and extroverted. We've had tons of practice with the more introverted and shy type & we’d definitely say that making sure you find a photographer/photography team that you connect with and feel comfortable with will help make things feel more natural.
A few questions to mull over when considering a photographer should include: What do you feel when you look through their website and images? How do they make you feel corresponding through email and phone conversations? Typically those feelings are good indicators of what you'll feel at the session. Are you going through the galleries and images and seeing that they are excelling in connection and interaction? Or are the images more stale and impersonal? Chances are that if you get those warm and fuzzy vibes while looking through their work & interacting with them, that is most likely what you'll get at your shoot!
Through the years we've found that keeping the session more active and finding ways for our couples to interact with each other by giving easy prompts like: “Scott look over at Emma, Emma look at us, Scott place your forehead on Emma's temple, kiss her cheek or anywhere but her lips, whisper your favorite breakfast meal in your sexiest voice, now lock hands and walk towards us, look at each other, look at us!” Prompts like this will keep the session light hearted, silly, and fun, taking the shoot away from a stiff, awkward forced vibe to having your shy fiance come out of his or her shell for a bit!
Q: Suggestions for great outfits, designers, and style?
If you hired a professional wedding photographer, they should more than likely have tons of wardrobe and outfit ideas, suggestions and insight. With the ALP team, we gift our couples with a welcome box that includes a custom wedding magazine/guide covering things specifically like engagement sessions and wardrobe, timing, details and all things engagement session! A lot of our brides tend to wear brands like Anthropologie, Lulus, & Madewell to name a few! We'll cover outfits and styling in a little more detail below, but keeping it minimal, neutral, and something that is complementing to the location is always a safe start. You can always layer on accessories like a nice statement necklace, fun hat, unique belt or pretty scarf. If you are more of a patterns and bold colors type of girl (or guy!) then we’d maybe suggest keeping your location more simple to let you and your fiance's fun personality shine
Q: Speaking of location, what is the best location to capture all the southwest charm in New Mexico?
The Southwest charm is so broad and its hard for us to say what our favorite truly is . When we think Southwest, our minds immediately goes to our vast vegetation, the desert & yuccas/chamsia/cholla trifecta and the rolling hills and the views, but others think ristras, crushed adobe, and pueblo revival architecture. There is no right or wrong answer just tons of options so for the desert look, we’d go either far west for flat desert or far east for the rolling hills at the base of the Sandia mountains (that still provides the chamisa/cholla/yucca combo & where you can still get a desert vibe, strangely enough!). For adobe and ristras and that quintessential New Mexico look, we'd reccomend Old Town Albuquerque or downtown Santa Fe. Look through your photographer’s galleries and see what location you connect to and are attracted to the most. We put together a guide to some our most treasured locations with our friends at Rocky Mountain Bride, so more inspo, follow the link below!
Alicia Lucia’s Guide to the Top New Mexico Engagement Spots
Q What’s thebest attire for men?
This again ties back to personality and location chosen. We've had grooms show up to shoots in a 3 piece suit, rocking that dapper look, to grooms shutting it down in a jean jacket and beanie. Get with your photographer, nail down a location, and then base your attire on what the overall look your trying to achieve while still keeping your personality and the location in mind.
Q: How do we make sure our style doesn't clash with the location?
As mentioned earlier, a good photographer will be basing the location options off of your attire & this is why good/open communication is important and constant correspondences is so necessary. If your photographer is not in contact with you or helping/preparing you for your engagement session, then we'd definitely re-evaluate.
Q: How do we incorporate props?
Cover that with your photographer first to make sure a) the location allows it and doesn't have any restrictions and b) that the location is flattering/complimenting to the prop you are wanting to incorporate.
Q: How many photos should we expect to receive from one engagement session?
We typically deliver anywhere between 50-100 photos.
Q: How far in advance should we book?
Our brides book their wedding dates with us about a year to a year and a half out with their engagement sessions being booked about 4-8 months before their wedding
Q: What is the typical turn around for photos be? My sisters wedding photographer took a month.
We'd say that is probably average but we've worked hard to nail down our post wedding processing and have streamlined our process to a t so we can turn a round wedding galleries anywhere between a week to 3 weeks!
Featured Engagements
Jason + Natalie at White Sands (Alamogordo, NM)
Chris + Ari at Los Poblanos (Albuquerque, NM)
Derek + Brigitte at White Mesa (San Ysidro, NM)
Trey + Clara at Old Town (Albuquerque, NM)
Paul + Carolyn at the Bosque (Albuquerque, NM)
Tom + Justine in Central Park (New York, NY)
Evan + Jocelyn at White Mesa (San Ysidro, NM)
Matt + Allie at a Private Estate (Santa Fe, NM)
Geoff + Jocelyn at the Rock House (Albuquerque, NM)
Andrew + Deanna at Nob Hill + Old Town (Albuquerque, NM)
Engagements by Alicia, Ashley, and Bre of Alicia Lucia Photography
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography
Tom + Justine, a New York City Engagement in Central Park
Admist all the beauty and craziness of wedding season, New York lovers Tom and Justine invited us out to the Big Apple for their engagement session and we just couldn’t resist sharing all the magic of this special evening! Our girl Bre captured these two out and about in Central Park on a dreamy October evening and it was nothing short of amazing. From Bethesda Terrace and Fountain to the Central Park Lake to all the adorable bridges and walkways of this historic location, we couldn’t get enough of these two in one of the most special places on earth!
Tom and Justine are both attorneys in New York and met a little over two years ago. They instantly fell for each other and they’ll be making in official in Santa Fe at La Fonda on the Plaza next August! We can’t wait to see all the beauty and fun that they’re going to bring to the City Different! Cheers cuties, can’t wait for 2020!
Engagement Vendors
Engagement Location - Central Park (New York City, NY)
Bride’s Hair - Marie Robinson Salon
MUA - Natalie from Glam Squad
Bride’s Engagement Ring - Marisa Perry Atelier
Bride’s Dress - ZIMMERMANN
Bride’s Shoes - Valentino + Badgley Mischka
Groom’s Jacket - John Varvatos
Groom’s Pants - Bonobos
Groom’s Shoes - Salvatore Ferragamo
Photographer - Bre
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography