menswear

the wedding chronicles | decisions #25 – #32

kdavis 1 Comment

for those of you who over the past year have been keeping up with the wedding chronicles, you might have wondered where i went for the past couple of months.  well, i went right into the busiest part of wedding planning, that’s where i was!  as such i neglected my posts but am choosing to catch up now.  and even though we are now happily married (for two whole weeks in fact – wooh!), better late than never.  🙂  thank you for joining us on this journey!

decision #25 – the engagement session

after we decided on our photographers for the wedding, the next step with them was to schedule our engagement session.  now, i originally had no desire whatsoever to do an engagement photo shoot, and many of you probably are asking “why?”  well, i personally have never loved getting my photo taken, and the thought of being dragged around for hours and being placed and posed for lovey-dovey photos by someone we don’t know sounded quite undesirable in all honesty.  however, many former brides in my life told me that my reasons for not wanting an engagement session are the reasons exactly why we should have an engagement session.  come again?

see, everyone’s logic (that i ended up accepting as truth after going through it all myself) was that the engagement session is an opportunity to get comfortable with your photographers and start getting to know them.  after all, they do follow you around your entire wedding day, so developing a relationship with them isn’t a bad idea.  another reason an engagement session is worth the while is because it provides a chance for you and your significant other to get used to being all “lovey-dovey” in front of a camera and having someone there to capture that moment.  okay, i guess i can get on board with that reason as well.  and the final reason?  well, for us it was included in the cost, so why the heck not.

so back in november one early saturday morning we met up with our main photographer lisa at ponce city market.  pcm wasn’t too crowded just yet, so lisa worked with us quickly to take advantage of the typically busy and bustling scenery.  the first several photos on the staircase, as it would turn out, were a bit awkward.  i more so than phillip really didn’t understand how to pose and be cuddly with someone else there, and i wasn’t crazy about the first probably 20 photos in the portfolio, which is exactly what worried me in the first place.

thankfully, though, i’d say we hit a better spot as we walked along the beltline and acted more naturally towards each other.  those photos i could look at all day.

and then we had some more close-up, intimate shots now that we were in a bit of a groove.  i think phillip favored these more than me, but i’ll admit there are several i do like.

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my absolute favorites are from when after we had an outfit change and were now really enjoying ourselves.  mm, what a good looking pair!

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all in all, i’d say that even though i was first very skeptical about the engagement session, phillip and our photographer helped me see the value and fun in it.  and even though i wasn’t too sure about the results at first, i have come to love these high quality results and the sweet moments they captured.

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“the death of business casual”

kdavis Leave a comment

okay, so i don’t think i would really consider myself a fashionista.  i simply don’t have enough free time to read through style magazines, watch e!, or peruse the racks at tj maxx and marshall’s for steals on designer brands.

but!  i do know how to put myself together, and thanks to my dad’s critical eye, i know what works with what and what needs to be worn where.  after being in the corporate world for nearly five years now, i also have plenty of experience dressing for clients and colleagues and c-level personnel.  i don’t let my personal style suffer too much, but sometimes you do what you gotta do.

now, with all of this being said, i came across a very interesting article on linkedin today for the men in the audience.  mr. rob madelmayer takes a very quick look at what the styles of corporate men once were and how they compare to what you gentlemen are sporting today.  his generalization is just that, a generalization, but it evoked a moment of pause in my afternoon to think a little more on it.

i will never forget my first day at work, back in june 2010, when my then coworker emmanuel showed up to the office in a suit and tie.  this man knew how to dress himself, and he was looking sharp, and even though a couple of more senior folks gave him a little jab about it, i think a certain level of respect was nearly instantaneous because, whether we like to admit it or not, first impressions do matter.  throughout his time at my company, he continued to dress for success, and it is something people continue to remember about him even though he hasn’t worked here in almost three years.

you might want to say that looks don’t matter, but the clothes you put on your body say a lot about who you are.  they tell, or maybe don’t tell, people “hey, i looked in the mirror this morning and was confident this outfit would be an acceptable way to present myself.”  and even if you never meet a person, if they see you in the grocery store or the local sub shop for lunch, what do you think they’d have to say?

just a little food for thought.