Bells Bend Summer Engagement
Adrian & Chandler’s summer engagement at Bells Bend in Nashville was easily one of my faves this year. The forecast this day said overcast, and I’d planned around the soft light I expected that evening. But as always, Nashville weather had other plans and the sun came out in full force way ahead of schedule.
Our Bells Bend engagement session started with nearly half an hour of accidental downtime. But it turned out to be the best part of the day. We just talked: about music, about their upcoming wedding, about whether each of us was type A or B (spoiler alert, I’m type B), about life in general. There was no agenda. By the time we really started shooting, it didn’t feel like a session anymore. I felt like I was hanging out with my friends (who just happened to be super cute and photo ready).
Feeling Comfortable During Your Engagement Session
So many couples come into their engagement session nervous, worried they’ll look or feel stiff or won’t know what to do with their hands. Adrian & Chandler told me flat out at the start that they’d need lots of direction. And for the first fifteen minutes or so, sure, I gave them prompts, little things to do, places to stand. I will always guide you as much as you need. But somewhere around the halfway mark, after we’d spent time chatting & walking around, they stopped needing me. They fell into a rhythm, making each other laugh. Those are ALWAYS the best photos. The ones where I’m not directing anything, I’m just documenting two people who forgot they were supposed to be posing.
Bells Bend as a Summer Engagement Session Location
Bells Bend is one of the most underrated spots for Nashville engagement photos in my opinion. It’s a big stretch of open land and sky just outside the city, with rolling hills in the background, a (kind of creepy) old barn, and there’s a river that curves around the park but admittedly I haven’t been to that particular area. It truly makes you feel like you’re not even in Nashville anymore. And golden hour out there is well worth the wait, especially if (like us) you end up with an accidental half hour to burn beforehand.
By the time the sun dropped low enough to give us the warm light hitting the fields, they were fully themselves. No more “tell us what to do.” Just two people enjoying being around each other on an evening that started rough on paper and ended up being one of my favorite sessions of the summer.
Planning Your Bells Bend Engagement Session
If you’re nervous about your own engagement session, or worried you’ll need constant direction to feel comfortable, I promise that’s more normal than you think! And it almost always resolves itself once you settle in. If Bells Bend, or another wide open Nashville spot, sounds like your kind of place, reach out here and let’s plan a session that gives you room to relax into it. And if you want to see more sessions like this one, the blog has plenty of couples who started nervous and ended up forgetting the camera was there too 🙂
Additional Engagement Session Resources
Some of my favorite Nashville engagement session locations
What to wear for your engagement photos
How to prepare for your engagement session
My couples usually tell me the same thing: having me at their wedding felt easy. Like they could actually be present and soak everything in, knowing someone was paying attention without needing anything from them.
That's the whole point.
You're not hiring me to direct you through a shot list or make you perform for the camera. You're hiring me to document your day as it unfolds. The way your mom looked at you during your vows. The toast that made everyone lose it. The moment you two finally exhaled and realized you were married.
If you're planning something outdoorsy, intimate, or a little adventurous, if you value natural moments, and want a photographer who feels more like a friend than a stranger with a camera, then you're in the right place.
You get to laugh, cry, and actually experience what's happening on your wedding day. I make sure nothing slips by. Your photos feel real because the energy behind them was real. No forcing, no performing. Just you, living your day.
— a photographer inspired by landscapes, people, and their stories
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