A Piece of Toast’s Alys Beach Engagement

You know her as one half of the A Piece of Toast duo and went Behind the Blog on SMP Living, but today Sally is stepping in the role of bride-to be with her stunning beach engagement session. Photographed by the crazy talented Leslee Mitchell, it’s love captured in the sweetest form with each soft, dreamy image somehow more beautiful than the last. Refill that coffee mug and prepare to swoon.

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From Sally of A Piece Of Toast… I really cannot sing the praises of Leslee Mitchell enough. Her talent as a photographer, master at styling, and amazing person with a killer personality has made me all but obsessed with her. Back in June when my fiancé and I got engaged, one of the first things I did was research a photographer…

I have long admired and fawned over wedding photography – always drawn to the work of photographers who have a way of capturing those “in between” and candid moments that really give meaning to a wedding and a family, and really just life in general. When my fiance and I decided on a destination wedding, I first researched local photographers in the area, and then hit the endless archives of Style Me Pretty – a site that can literally draw me in for hours. What I love about Style Me Pretty is how you can search by just about anything to find a wedding or weddings that might match what you may be looking for. In my case, I used it to find weddings that were in the same area where mine will be. So glad I did this because I may never have come across all the Nashville-bred glory that is Leslee.

While she is not necessarily local to where we will be married (though she shoots in the area enough that she may as well be) she travels around the world to capture weddings. I fell in love with her beautiful work and knew I would do anything within my budget to make it so she could capture our day. Lucky for me, she was available!

Keep in mind that all of this happened 5 prior to this shoot. After booking Leslee for the big wedding day (spring 2015) my fiancé and I decided that since we were going to be in our wedding location in October, that we should see if Leslee was available to fly down and shoot some engagement pictures. I had been so busy with moving across the country and starting a new job that I really had not put much thought into these photos or many of the details until oh, days before. And I knew Leslee was good, because that’s why we hired her, but I really didn’t know just how good until meeting her and seeing her in action.

The girl’s got dedication (shooting digital and film), is a perfectionist (making sure her subjects and the surrounding elements are equally photo-ready), and has an eye for beauty and detail unlike any other. She can remember the details of any inspiring photo she has ever seen and truly knows what it takes to create a beautiful image and a lasting moment. She spend countless hours on her own scoping out the best spots to shoot so that my fiancé I could enjoy the process (along with a bottle of champagne she gave to us) and just be in the moment. One afternoon spent racing the clock set by the sunset and we ended with wayy more than we could have ever asked from her: gorgeous, personal, and special engagement photos.

It’s safe to say that meeting Leslee and getting to spend time with her has been kind of a game changer for me. She’s one of those magnetic and creative people that you just know you’ve met for a reason. The excitement of seeing the engagement photos made me that much more excited for the wedding and the thought of having Leslee there to capture our day and our moments makes me giddy. But really, I just want to hang with our new-found friend again over a cocktail or two.

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Post tags: Engagement, Engagement Session, Photo Shoot
Post categories: Engagement Session, The Blog