We’ll let bride-to-be Carly tell you all about her engagement and this dream photo shoot on the family ranch. Show horses included!! Dreamy photos by Ashley Rae Studio!
How They Met
Levi and my story really began because of our love for horses and the western lifestyle. We both grew up on ranches and rodeo professionally. We actually met at Salinas Rodeo while there to compete and have been inseparable ever since, splitting our time between California, Oklahoma, and the rodeos in between. My family has a 7 generation grain and cattle ranch on the central coast of California and my heritage is very important to me. When Levi proposed he knew what would mean the most to me and it was to do it there. He fooled me into thinking we were doing a photoshoot for a local wine company on the ranch and, beneath an old oak tree in the wild oats, he got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
The Engagement Shoot
That is what inspired the engagement photo shoot. I wanted to incorporate everything that meant something to us and who we are. So the setting was the Twisselman Grain & Cattle ranch, beneath oak trees and in the barley fields. I wanted the photos to be romantic and timeless so that’s what inspired our outfit choices. One of the most important choices I made was my choice in photographer. I found Ashley from Ashley Rae Studio through one of her photos I saw on instagram. I fell in love with her style. The photos were always so beautiful, timeless, light, and romantic. It was exactly what I was looking for. I felt so comfortable with her which made me confident when it came to our engagement shoot day.
The engagement shoot day was so much fun. There was a lot of laughing and joking around and the shoot went with ease. We were also able to get a few shots with our horses in the photos which was so fun and I loved the way they turned out. Everything in one picture that meant so much to us.
I highly recommend getting engagement photos done for many reasons. One, its really the first thing we’ve done as a couple besides getting engaged that celebrates the engagement. It was so fun to get that quality time with my fiancé. I also recommend it to get to know your photographer and to get a feel for what taking photos on your wedding day will be like. I know now that I am so confident in my photographer and that our wedding photos are going to be just the way I want them.
Lessons Learned
If I could give any advice, tips or tricks from my shoot it would be these:
- Pinterest was my best friend. It helped me figure out poses I wanted to hit, certain style dresses I wanted to find, and even ideas for your hair.
- Do NOT depend on your fiancé to plan his outfit out as much as you do yours…actually do not plan on him do plan it out at all. About an hour before the shoot was supposed to start is when he decided to think about his clothes. I had already selected some shirts that would compliment the dresses I had and I figured he would wear a nice pair of dark denim jeans. Well, the only jeans he had that were clean at the time had holes in them! We had to scramble and he ended up having to borrow a pair of my dad jeans. We pulled it off though and he looked great.
- As far as dresses go and bra choices, I went with the deep plunging neckline look and I had ordered every strapless sticky bra made but not of them worked. What I did discover though as a gift from God and should come with every girl’s emergency kit is athletic KT tape! I had support, perkiness and I was able to basically build myself a bra. Ladies, it was so comfortable!!! Sounds weird I know but it really was awesome.
- If your going to be out in the grass/fields, don’t wear nylons! They attract stickers.
- Have fun! you are capturing your love for one another! This is a great time in your life!
-Carly Twisselman
Thanks for all of the tips girl!! Enjoy Engaged Life and that beautiful ranch!
