The Hardest Part: Engagement Picture Outfit

Seriously, the hardest part of my engagement so far has not been where we would get married, what kind of food to get, what wedding dress was the perfect one, but what I would wear for our engagement pictures....

It was awful. Everyone will see these pictures; you dream about having these pictures. I wanted to look back on these photos and not go---what was I thinking? 

{flashback 2004: senior pictures with Hollister shirts that showed our midriff, or jean skirts with Birkenstocks}

Yikes.

I would lie awake at night stressing about it, stress out whenever I looked at my closet, worried int he shower...it was awful. Did I say that already?

Because Brandon was going to be out of town for rotations for two months in August we planned our engagement pictures for November 3rd. And giving me that much time to think about what my outfits would be was dangerous. I immediately started searching and thought I decided on the perfect two ensembles. This was my original vision:

Not necessarily Chevron, but I wanted a dress in that shape and paired with boots. I then on impulse ordered this dress found from Urban Outfitters: Kimchi Blue Alabama Dress                                                                                                I LOVE my mint green cords from J.Crew and really wanted to wear them. I thought it would be a fun statement piece while still not being too trendy. I had planned on wearing heels and pairing it with the Long Convertible Sleeve Soft Shirt in black from Express.

J.Crew Factory Outlet: Toothpick Stretch Vintage Cords

In my head these outfits looked great...but I started second guessing myself and losing confidence the closer and closer November 3rd got. The last thing I wanted was to not feel comfortable and confident in these pictures. 

I talked with a colleague about it and she said she stressed forever on her outfits, bought all new outfits and in the end, she reached into her closet and picked out something she already owned and it turned out perfect.

I reached out to my fashion professional friend in NYC for her help and she was very blunt {in a good way} about my outfits. While she loved them {or parts of them} I didn't get the OMG, your outfits are perfect, go for it!

Ok, I changed it all. Two weeks before the pics I decided to pitch the dress and mint pants and start from scratch and it was back to the drawing board Pinterest. 

I search for days, saved pictures to my phone and computer, and creeped on friends own engagement pictures. One afternoon, I decided to head to The Legends--an AMAZING outdoor outlet located in KS by the LiveStrong Stadium/Legends=danger for the wallet----I was determined to find an outfit and whatever I found I was wearing.

These are some of my pin-spirations:

Remember, I love stripes

 I read that the more layers the better, stay with solids but look for a pop of a pattern or color.

And this is what I found. I made my decision and I was done. 

Dress: Old Navy - Similar                                              Jacket: Banana Republic Factory Outlet

Necklace: Charming Charlie                                                       Scarf: Charming Charlie: $14           

                                                                                           (saw the same exact one on sale at Macys for $24)

                                                                                                                                      White Shirt: BR Factory Outlet

 And this is how they turned out, perfect.

Katie Day Photography
Scarf was LITERALLY purchased right before at our pit stop to Target because SOMEBODY forgot their pants in KC.

Katie Day Photography

It helps a lot to have such handsome arm candy too.
In the end it was so silly to stress about, the simpler the better.
Nobody is looking at your outfit.

{engagement pictures taken by Katie Day at katiedayphoto she's freakin' amazing}