Early Fall Engagement Session
Melessa and Ryan – September 10, 2026
East Tennessee may not be fully ready for fall yet, but Melessa and Ryan decided they weren’t going to wait around for the trees to cooperate. 😂🍂
These two are getting married with us in November, but they came out a little early for an early fall engagement session filled with warm boho colors, creekside snuggles, the first few fallen leaves of the season, and just enough nerdiness to make the whole thing completely their own. And while their photos were adorable, getting to hear more of their story made me even more excited for their wedding.
There was a proposal in Japan.
A delayed engagement ring.
Two hammered metal bands that unexpectedly became an important part of their story.
A future handfasting ceremony.
Labyrinth.
Star Wars.
Listen. November should be FUN.
Bringing Their Own Fall Color
September in East Tennessee is a funny little season. The calendar says fall is coming. Everyone is mentally ordering pumpkin drinks and digging sweaters out of storage. Meanwhile, the forest is like: Absolutely not. We are still green.
Full fall color around the Smoky Mountains generally comes later in the season, so an early fall engagement session can still have plenty of lush greenery in the background. And honestly, I love that. There’s something beautiful about that transition period when summer hasn’t completely disappeared, but you can see the first tiny signs that autumn is on its way.
For Melessa and Ryan’s session, we were starting to see a few leaves drifting down and little hints of the changing season, but since the trees weren’t bringing much autumn color yet, Melessa took care of that herself. She wore a gorgeous terracotta dress, while Ryan paired his look with a sage green dress shirt. The combination was PERFECT.
Terracotta and sage have that warm, earthy, slightly bohemian feeling that works beautifully for fall engagement photos, and the colors stood out against the still-green forest without fighting with the natural scenery. They looked like fall even if the trees were still thinking about it.
A Proposal Story From Japan
Of course, before we could get too far into their engagement photos, we needed to photograph the rings, and Melessa and Ryan’s rings have a pretty great story. Ryan had planned to propose during their trip to Japan. There was just one tiny problem. The engagement ring didn’t arrive in time. Not exactly ideal when you’ve presumably already planned an international proposal.
Instead of letting a shipping delay ruin the moment, they adapted. They found beautiful hammered metal bands to use for the proposal instead, and Ryan still got to propose to Melessa in Japan. Honestly, I love stories like this because they’re such a good reminder that the things that don’t go according to plan sometimes become the details you end up loving most.
Would it have been nice if Melessa’s engagement ring had arrived exactly when expected? Sure. But if it had, those hammered bands probably wouldn’t exist, and now they’re becoming part of something even bigger.
From Proposal Rings to Handfasting Rings
Melessa’s actual engagement ring eventually arrived, and it is GORGEOUS. She chose a salt and pepper diamond, which feels perfectly suited to her style. Salt and pepper diamonds have all of those beautiful natural inclusions that make each stone look a little different, and hers photographed beautifully.
Melessa and Ryan didn’t simply toss those temporary proposal bands into a jewelry box once the engagement ring arrived. Instead, they’re giving them another job. When they return for their November wedding, the hammered bands they used for their proposal in Japan are going to become part of their handfasting ceremony.
And I LOVE that. Handfasting already gives couples a chance to incorporate symbolism and intention into their ceremony, but using something that actually has a history within their relationship makes it even more personal.
Those rings started as Plan B. Now they’ll forever be tied to two completely different milestones in their story. They were there when Ryan asked Melessa to marry him in Japan. And they’ll be there again when Melessa and Ryan get married in November. Sometimes Plan B turns out to be pretty darn good.
Early Fall Engagement Photos in the Woods
Once we had properly admired and photographed the rings, we started wandering. The morning was gorgeous for engagement photos. The forest was still mostly green, giving us that lush East Tennessee look, but there were finally a few leaves beginning to fall. It’s one of my favorite things about an early fall engagement session. You get a little bit of both seasons. There is still plenty of green, but the forest starts feeling different. Leaves begin appearing on the ground. The light starts changing. Every once in a while, you’ll spot that first little patch of yellow or orange that feels like autumn quietly announcing itself.
We started around the vines, letting Melessa and Ryan settle in and get comfortable in front of the camera. And really, engagement sessions don’t need to be complicated. You don’t need 47 poses or an elaborate theme. Walk together. Snuggle. Talk. Play. Make each other laugh. Give yourselves permission to be a little ridiculous.
The best photos usually happen somewhere in between all of that.
Playing Around by the Creek
From the vines, we headed toward one of our creek spots. The creek gave us a completely different look while still keeping everything surrounded by the woods. This is where engagement sessions start feeling less like a formal photo appointment and more like hanging out together while someone happens to be following you around with a camera which is exactly what I want.
Melessa and Ryan got to cuddle up, play around, and just enjoy being together. Engagement photos are obviously about getting beautiful pictures, but they’re also one of the few parts of wedding planning where you don’t really have to accomplish anything. There aren’t guests waiting for you. There’s no ceremony timeline. Nobody needs to cut a cake. You can just spend some time with the person you’re going to marry. And maybe occasionally be told what to do with your hands. 😂
And Then the Labyrinth Jacket Appeared
At some point during the session, Melessa pulled out a jacket, and then I saw the back. There was a quote from Labyrinth embroidered on it. HELLO. Obviously I was immediately obsessed. This is exactly the kind of thing I love seeing couples bring to an engagement session. Your photos don’t need to look like everybody else’s Pinterest board.
If there’s a movie, book, fandom, hobby, or weird little thing that the two of you love, there is absolutely room for it. Especially when you can incorporate it without turning the entire session into a themed photo shoot. Melessa’s jacket worked perfectly with the fall feeling of her terracotta dress while sneaking in this fun little piece of her personality.
Romantic fall photos with a slightly nerdy twist? YES, PLEASE.
Saving One More Surprise for the End
We eventually made our way to the road for the last part of their session. Or at least I thought it was the last part. Because Melessa and Ryan had one more outfit change waiting. Matching shirts. And not just any matching shirts. “Til Death Star Do We Part.”
At that point, I knew for certain that these were my kind of people. 😂 We had gone from warm bohemian fall engagement photos to Labyrinth and then straight into Star Wars, and somehow it all worked. More importantly, it felt like them. Engagement photos are documenting a very specific little window in your life. You’re not married yet. You’re somewhere in the middle of planning everything. You’re probably making approximately six thousand decisions about flowers, clothes, timelines, food, ceremonies, and who exactly needs to sit beside Aunt Susan.
Why not use the engagement session to document the fun stuff, too? Wear the matching nerdy shirts. Bring the fandom jacket. Include the weird inside joke. Future-you will probably be glad you did.
Why Early Fall Is So Pretty for Engagement Photos
Couples sometimes think a fall engagement session automatically means fiery red and orange leaves, but there’s a lot to love about the beginning of the season, too. An early fall engagement session in East Tennessee gives you the opportunity to use warmer fall clothing and colors while the landscape is still lush and green.
Terracotta, rust, mustard, burgundy, cream, brown, and sage all look beautiful against that transitional scenery. And because the trees haven’t completely changed yet, you can get photos that feel warm and autumnal without every single image screaming FALL LEAVES!
For Melessa and Ryan, the combination worked especially well. The greenery gave us a beautiful natural backdrop. Their clothing brought in those warmer autumn tones. And the few leaves beginning to drift down gave us a tiny preview of what was coming. Including their wedding.
Next Stop: November
That’s probably my favorite thing about engagement sessions with couples we’ll get to see again for their wedding. This isn’t the end of the story — it’s basically a preview. Melessa and Ryan came to us for an early fall engagement session, but in November they’ll be back to actually get married. Those hammered bands from their proposal in Japan will return for their handfasting ceremony. The engagement photos will turn into wedding photos. The people who were still technically fiancés while we wandered around the creek will leave next time as spouses. And based on what we’ve learned so far, I have a feeling their wedding is going to have plenty of personality.
We’ve already got a Japan proposal. A salt and pepper diamond. Meaningful hammered rings. A handfasting ceremony. Boho fall colors. Labyrinth. Star Wars. And two people who were ridiculously cute together throughout their engagement photos.
Yeah. November should be a good one. 😂❤️
We can’t wait to have you two back, Melessa and Ryan!!
Until then, may the Force be with your wedding planning. ✨