Downtown Houston Engagement Pictures

February 2021–what a month! Kyle and I celebrated the halfway mark of our engagement and our 3-year dating anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, we took engagement pictures in Downtown Houston. In this post I’ll share a wedding planning update and some of my favorite shots from the shoot!

Chicago Wedding Update

May 15, 2021! We set a date! After much back and forth and touring venues in Houston and weighing the risks of COVID, we decided on an intimate ceremony in Chicago with only immediate family. Depending on your definition, we’re kind of eloping! Maybe in the future we’ll have a big reception with all our friends and extended family. But right now we’re focusing on the most important part of the day—getting married!

I’m actually quite excited for the ceremony and have been doing aaaall of the Pinterest and mood boards in preparation. I will say it was a bit hectic trying to pick a venue, find vendors, and choose details of a destination wedding site unseen. The first time I’ll visit my wedding venue will be the week of my ceremony!

In a normal world, I would have expected to have had engagement parties with all my family friends, bridal showers with a crew of bridesmaids from all my stages of life, a full-blown bachelorette in Napa or Mexico or somewhere exotic. But here we are with our intimate wedding that I’m planning via FaceTime.

Luckily in my life outside of blogging, I plan and facilitate workshops that cost the same amount as a wedding. (They often have as much drama involved too!) I’m feeling pretty confident to take on planning the day. I would have loved to do more things in person. But given the circumstances, I’m cherishing all the little moments and opportunities to do wedding prep in person here in Houston–like picking out wedding bands and taking engagement pictures.

Click here to read our proposal story.

Houston Engagement Pictures

Initially, I had hoped to go visit Chicago for our 3-year anniversary on February 11th for a special weekend away. While there we could meet with our wedding vendors, tour the venue location, do a cake tasting, a hair/makeup trial, etc.

I actually had this grand idea of doing engagement pictures with the Chicago skyline and getting to know my wedding photographer and learning how to work with her. But given that I haven’t been on a plane since last March AND the weather in Chicago sucks in February (also looking at you, Houston’s freak snow storm), we decided that it wouldn’t be worth the risk to go up.

Le Meridien Houston

Luckily, I found the amazing Maggie Gomez who had a wonderful light and airy photography vibe that I knew would capture our engagement pictures beautifully. In preparation for the shoot, I did aaaaaall the things to get all glammed up for the day. I did crazy things like get my hair cut for the first time since quarantine and get my nails done for the first time since getting engaged. (I’m clearly a super high maintenance bride, right?)

Since I won’t be able to do one in Chicago, I also selected my hair and makeup styles for a bridal “trial” here in Houston. SO GRATEFUL for the wonderfully, talented, artistic humans who brought my vision to life. Kyle and I had such a fun time bouncing around Downtown Houston and highlighting some of my favorite skyline views!

We started the shoot at Z on 23 — the rooftop of Le Meridien in Downtown Houston. I love this rooftop bar because it has a spectacular skyline view and the railings are nicer than some of the parking garages people often opt for. We snapped a few pictures in the lobby bar (I made that “champagne” prop with diet coke and water) and then headed out to the street.

Downtown Houston

I absolutely adore Houston architecture so loved some of the downtown pictures of the Main Street rail line, Art Deco hotels and banks, arcades of the Texaco building.