The moment I met Carla + Ben, I knew we would have a blast together. When the day arrived for their Engagement Session, I couldn’t wait!
These two live in Houston, but with Ben being an Aggie Alum, they chose to come to me for their Engagement Session so they could get portraits at the iconic Century Tree, and the Dixie Chicken.
If you aren’t familiar with Texas A&M as a whole, let me enlighten you on a few things! This school is filled with Tradition after Tradition. As a “townie” I know quite a few, but as someone who never attended the school I still hear about new traditions all the time! This town seeps with Aggie Pride and comradery. One of the many reasons we love living here!
For an Aggie, the Century Tree has deep sentimental meaning. Every good Aggie knows you don’t walk under it alone, or you will be doomed to a life alone. If you walk under it with friends, you will be friends forever. And if you walk thru it with your love, you will be together forever!
Therefore, most Aggies avoid walking under the tree all together…until they are engaged!! Once engaged it is a sweet symbol of their commitment to the one they love, to walk under the tree together.
Because of this tradition, a lot of my Aggie couples decide to do a portion of their Engagement Session on campus, so they can have the opportunity to take portraits as they walk under the tree together!
Ben + Carla were no exception! We started there, and then right behind Sully (Another tradition! Click A Penny on Sully to find out what/who Sully is!) were these two gorgeous trees with beautiful purple blooms! It was a bit gloomy and cloudy out, so I welcomed the touch of color. After grabbing a few shots at the Century Tree, and with the purple flowers, we headed to Northgate to get some pictures at “The Chicken” and on Bottle Cap Alley.
Northgate is an area of bars next to the school. “The Chicken” is an iconic place that every Aggie knows about and loves. There are pool tables inside, the tables to sit at are carved up with name after name. The back porch is where so many alum have memories of sitting and hanging out with their friends after a long week of finals. And just like Ben, those with parents who also attended TAMU were told about The Dixie Chicken as they grew up! It’s a long standing tradition to hang out there. And Bottle Cap Alley is right next to it. Y’all it is literally an alley full of bottle caps…DO NOT WALK ON IT WITHOUT SHOES. ?
When I walked up to The Chicken, Carla + Ben had gotten me a beer too! I love not being just the photographer, I love getting to spend real time with my clients and during your session if we just hang like friends… well you’ll get more comfortable in front of my camera. Plus, then we get to do fun boomerangs with our beers!
We left Northgate, and headed to Research Park. It was just down the road and the perfect place to end our session together. The trees are still bare and we were losing light, but I was still able to get some gorgeous portraits. These were some of my favorites. Carla wore this gorgeous Royal Blue dress that was the perfect color for her! Paired with Ben all dressed nice with his dress shirt and dress boots…they were smokin’ hot!
I hope you guys had a blast at your Engagement Session. I loved every minute of it!
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