Friendor No. 1 is our photographer. The Backyard Groom is actually a professional photographer, and it took quite a bit of sweet talk to disabuse him of the idea that he would be shooting our wedding himself. This task became a little easier when a friend/former co-worker of his offered his services for free. I've seen some of this guy's portrait work, and it's fantastic. He wants to make the shift into weddings and build his portfolio, so he also offered to do free bridal and engagement sessions. I'm beyond thrilled about this. Honestly, I'm still on the fence about bridal portraits because I can't picture ever putting huge photos of myself around the house, but the thought of engagement pictures makes me giddy.
Because The Backyard Groom is a photographer, we have a ton of photos he's taken of us through the years. They're great photos, some of my absolute favorites, but they all have one common feature - they're all close-ups courtesy of The Backyard Groom's outstretched arm. I'm so excited that we'll soon have photos of us that actually include our bodies and don't involve any contortions to make sure one of us can hold the camera steady at the same time.
Now comes the job of choosing where to shoot these engagement photos. Austin is an absolutely beautiful city, where you can find any kind of backdrop you want, from bustling Sixth Street to the funky buildings of SoCo to the gorgeous lake views from Mt. Bonnell. Instead of choosing one of these locations at random, I'd like to choose an Austin landmark that has meaning to us as a couple.
First up, the Texas State Capitol. (I forgot to bookmark the source pages for these images. Sorry, copyright holders!)
The Backyard Groom and I met and fell in love while interning for the state. (Yes, intern fraternization was frowned upon so we kept it a secret from our co-workers all semester.) We didn't actually work in the beautiful Capitol building, but we walked by it to get to our office a block away. The grounds of the Capitol are so pretty, especially at this time of year, so I'm sure we could find some pretty places to snap some shots.
Next up is the University of Texas campus. We were both UT students when we met, and we both graduated from UT, so maybe we're a bit biased in our opinion that the campus is awesome. Just take a look at the Main Building tower facing the South Mall and the Littlefield Fountain.
When you're a UT student, you inevitably spend a good chunk of time hanging out at the shops and cafes on The Drag. The storefronts have changed a great deal since The Backyard Groom and I were in school, but some of the most famous places are still there, like this mural by singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston. Jeremiah the Innocent is one of Austin's many unofficial mascots.
One of the 10,452 things The Backyard Groom and I have in common is that we are BIG movie fans. Several of our early dates were at the lovely historic Paramount Theatre during the Austin Film Festival. I think the marquee and building facade would make a pretty background. Plus it's only a short walk from the Capitol.
On any given weekend, there is probably an 92% chance that we will go see a movie, and about a 97% chance that the movie will be seen at one of the Alamo Drafthouses. We are admittedly obsessed with the luxury of chowing down on burgers and beer while watching a movie, and the Alamo is the best. Their Ritz location on Sixth Street also has a cool marquee for a photo backdrop.
Austin is compact enough that we should be able to pose for pictures at a couple different places, but I'm still having trouble narrowing it down. What do you think? Are they any Austin places we should be sure not to miss?
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