Engagement Photoshoot: Mitchell and Marine

As you may recall, Marine and Mitchell recently got engaged with a surprise romantic proposal on April 24 in front of the Armenian genocide monument in Fresno. Following the proposal, the couple visited Armenia to have their engagement blessed and to do their engagement photoshoot! We're very excited to share the magical photos from their engagement by Lumen Wedding as well as our interview with Marine about all the details of their photoshoot:

Q. Why did you choose to have your photoshoot in Armenia?

Marine: Since Mitch and I met, it was always my dream for us to visit Armenia together. The timing of our engagement and our trip to Armenia overlapped nicely, and I couldn't think of a better location to do our engagement photos than in our homeland, Armenia. This way we could always remember our first journey to Armenia together, as well as have unique photos in beautiful settings that we wouldn't be able to find back at home.

Q. What was your vision for the photoshoot? Which locations did the photoshoot take place at? 

Marine: From the beginning, I knew I wanted our photos to capture the breathtaking country we were in including the mountains, forests, as well as the history through our ancient churches. Once I gave our photographer an idea of what I had in mind, he assured me that he'd take care of everything. After looking at his previous work, I was confident that he would be able to find the perfect spot for our photos. On the day of the shoot, our photographer, Arthur, picked us up and drove us north of Yerevan for about 40 minutes. Before long, he drove off the highway and onto a dirt road that was a bit bumpy, but definitely worth going on.  We ended up in a fairy-tale like location that looked untouched by civilization. The location had all the elements I wanted - a forest, fields, mountains, and a lake. 

Q: How did you pick the photographer Lumen Wedding?

Marine: One of my good friends got married in Armenia and Lumen Wedding captured their special day. I was in awe of her beautiful photos and videos. The photographers successfully captured the exciting emotions of the day with their cameras. I wanted the same photographer to do my engagement photos, so I reached out to him from America and we scheduled a time for the magic to happen. 

Q. Did you encounter any challenges?

Marine: Everything went very smoothly! That was a relief, especially because our photo shoot was scheduled to take place on our second day in Armenia. The weather was perfect and we were all in high spirits. We were outside taking photos for quite a few hours. I loved taking in the peaceful scenery and not feeling stressed or nervous about how the photos would come out. One experience that I laugh about now is when we took our photos standing on a very steep cliff overlooking the lake. Mitch and I are both fine with heights, but I admit we did get a bit shaky when we stood on the cliff while Arthur took his breathtaking photos. I remember Mitch holding tightly to my arms to make sure I didn't trip and hurt myself. Thankfully the pictures turned out very lovely - without any trips or falls! 

Later, we had to get back in the car, pass a gate manned by an officer, and drive down to a church at the edge of the lake, where we shot some more photos. The church was very old and used to be half-submerged in the lake. By the time we finished, it was quite dark with occasional lightning brightening up the skies. We had to off-road to get to the church, and then had to do the same going back to the main road. It was very bumpy and quite a thrill... at one point, the bump in the road literally made me jump out of my seat! It definitely made our experience even more of an unforgettable adventure.

Q. How was your overall experience planning a destination photoshoot? Do you have any tips for other couples planning?

Marine: Planning the photo shoot in Armenia wasn't challenging for us at all.  I think as long as you have a clear vision and can communicate it to your photographer, and then place the trust in them and their expertise, everything will go well.  The most important part is to do your research - find their website, their Facebook page, look at their reviews and their work.  It definitely helps when you know someone who's worked with them!

In our case, I loved working with Lumen Wedding.  Arthur's friendliness helped make the process so much more natural and fun. Nothing felt orchestrated or forced. His ability to scout out and find the perfect location also made me very happy that we chose him as our photographer.

Congratulations again Mitchell and Marine and thank you for sharing your breathtaking photos and story. We loved seeing the beauty of Armenia captured in your stunning photo shoot.

Where will you have your engagement photoshoot? Share in the comments section below or tag us with your photos on social media (@Harsanikcom).