Back in August, Jordan left a comment on the blog post I wrote about her nephews. She said, “When Matt proposes… expect a phone call!” I ran into her a few weeks later, and we had a fun conversation about weddings and photography. I got the feeling they would be engaged soon, but I don’t think anyone thought it would be THIS soon! I met up with them in Tuscaloosa last Friday for their engagement shoot. I’m a little out of place on the University of Alabama’s campus, so I was horrified when I realized that I was wearing purple with my metallic gold flats. Of all colors in the rainbow, I was wearing PURPLE and GOLD on the afternoon before Bama played LSU at home! I’m brilliant, really! But we made our way around campus with only a few snide comments and ended up with some cool shots! Meet Jordan and Matt:
A few months back I randomly stumbled across another photographers blog and began to read. A few posts into the first page, he had a post about a shoot that he had done while on a recent trip to visit a friend in LA. Apparently his friend was starting a band and wanted some promotional shots. As I’m reading, I’m thinking… is that?… no… wait… I think it is… that’s Celebrity X! Don’t get me wrong. He was a good photographer and the images were great. But for your average mid-western photographer, shooting celebrities isn’t an everyday occurance! This photographer had a friend who was starting a band with a celebrity and wasn’t even going to mention it!? What? I’m sorry, I’m just not that cool. Which is why I am going to tell this story:
Matt played football for the University of Alabama. Because of his ties to the University, we were able to gain access to the stadium and field for their engagement shoot. Shooting at the legendary Bryant-Denny stadium, to me, was like shooting a celebrity. My husband and I are both Auburn graduates as well as spirited fans. But being in the halls of Bryant-Denny was inspiring. Really. The three of us made jokes about me being there of course, but walking it’s halls was an honor. So unlike the photographer above, I just wanted to say that I was super excited to be shooting at a celebrity stadium and I don’t care who knows it. We started in the locker room next to good ole #56.
The field had just been painted for Saturday’s game against LSU. We had to tread carefully because the paint was still wet!
Shooting on the 50-yard line was so much fun! But the red seats were calling my name, so we headed up into the stands for some more photos. Can you guess which day of the week these two lovebirds are getting married? Tell us Matt:
Oh, I just love these next two.
This is one of my absolute favorites from the session. This tunnell is directly across from the locker room and is the same one that the players run through before each home game.
Jordan and Matt have a super lovealbe bulldog named Mazie. From the moment I walked in, she was running between my feet and sitting in my lap. She was a seriously cool dog though, so I didn’t mind. I teased that I would call her Uga if they gave me any trouble, but it turns out that she is actually from the Uga blood line. Matt’s brother brought her out to meet us for a few family photos. So if you think about it… here we have a former UofA player with a UGA bulldog and an AU photographer dressed in LSU colors. SEC REPRESENT BABY!
Besides the adorable couple and the dramatic height of the stadium, let me tell you why I love this photo. See that statue off to the left holding the University of Alabama flag? Matt was the model for that statue! How cool is that? We did catch a few quick photos of them up on the ledge before Barney Fife made them get down. He was cool about it though, and sweet Jordan actually went over later to thank him.
I had so much fun with Jordan and Matt roaming the University of Alabama campus. It was such a cool experience all around. From everything I’ve heard, their July wedding is going to be one to remember, and I’m looking forward to being a part of their big day!
Contact Amanda or view more Engagement Photography
by Amanda
28 comments