Hey there! I’m Christine and a few of you might recognize me as I’ve been writing for the Allebach Photography Blog now for the past couple of years. Today I’m here to tell my own Couples Boudoir story, as my husband and I finally got to do our very own session with Mike recently.
But first, let me back up. I’ve followed Allebach Photography for several years now, well before I started helping out with the blog, and while I’ve always found Mike’s work to be mind-blowingly impressive, I never quite saw myself as one of his typical clientele. I have no tattoos. I’ve never colored my hair a funky shade. The most exotic piercing I’ve got is my nose ring. What I’m trying to say is I’m not exactly edgy. And if I’m not then my husband, Evan, certainly isn’t!
Evan and I met my summer out of college when a mutual friend invited me over to a party Evan was hosting at his new apartment. In actuality, this mutual friend invited me in the hopes of having me all to himself, but instead I was drawn to the host, who was playing beer pong and making goofy faces as he danced. There was something just so carefree and confident about him – he was the perfect balance between attractive and approachable.
To our mutual friend’s disappointment, we hit it off and within a few weeks we were exclusive. Though we came from different familial backgrounds we connected so well, first with our common interests and later with our shared values and perspectives on life. A quick three years later that mutual friend was toasting us at our wedding as Evan’s Best Man!
Last year we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by hitting up the Harry Potter Festival Pub Crawl in the Philly neighborhood of Chestnut Hill. But this year, I wanted things to be different. Writing everyone’s fabulous Couples Boudoir stories made me realize that many of the couples Mike photographs have the same thoughts that have run through my head. I’m not edgy enough, I’m not skinny enough, I’m not pretty enough, I’m not kinky enough. Blah Blah Blah.
I realized that these were excuses. I was looking for a fun, unique and intimate way to celebrate my relationship with my husband. Since we had our son nearly two years ago, I’ve found it very difficult to redirect my attention to Evan. By the end of the day we’re so exhausted from working and taking care of our son that we’re lucky if we can get through an episode of Game of Thrones together before passing out. I didn’t want to just settle for a night out to dinner, I wanted an experience that we would remember for years to come.
Some of our experiences in the past have included travel but with the CO-VID pandemic on top of having a baby, we were even more restricted in our options this year, which is why a Couples Boudoir session was even more appealing to us!
The day of our session I woke up SO EXCITED. I hadn’t felt a rush of excitement and nervous butterflies like that in so long and it actually reminded me a little of those pre wedding jitters I got on my wedding day. I checked and double-checked the outfits I’d packed, we picked up a bottle of champagne, dropped off our son and headed to the studio.
Once there I went straight into hair and makeup, where I got to meet the amazingly talented Katherine. She made me feel immediately at ease. While she curled my hair, her, Evan and I chatted easily about our favorite local Middle Eastern spots and horror shows. Evan popped open our bottle of champagne and we raised our glasses. Katherine worked with me to make sure that we were enhancing what was already there, not covering me up. By the end I felt drop dead gorgeous, but still myself!
It was time to get shooting. I couldn’t stop looking around at the studio- the rich textures and colors just took my breath away. We started with me in a white lace dress and my husband in a navy blue suit and tie. I figured why not start off with more clothes and then work our way down as we grew more comfortable! We stood there looking into each other’s eyes and clinking our glasses of champagne, one of our favorite photos we’d later come to see.
It was such a relief to let Mike take the reins at that point. We trusted him completely as he directed us into our various poses, staged setups and wardrobe changes. The music played and he got into pro mode while we just got to hold and kiss each other. I felt a little self-conscious at moments (like when I put on my bodysuit that bares my whole ass or when Mike would prompt me to stick my butt out) but beautiful at the same time, if that makes sense. Evan, as always, was completely calm and collected, and I think his easy demeanor definitely helped me. Though the whole session was my idea in the first place, I think I was the more nervous of us two but during the session I felt like I was in a trance. We were so in the moment with each other. There were moments where it didn’t even feel like we were in a studio, it felt like we were in our own bedroom. Towards the end Mike mentioned that if we’d like we could remove our clothes. I hadn’t actually decided up until that point where I wanted to but I decided to fling off my bra and we took some of my favorite photos then of the two of us.
The album is absolutely stunning, it honestly might be one of my now most treasured possessions. If our house was burning down I would reach for it in a heartbeat! In all seriousness, I’m having trouble finding the words to convey how gorgeous it is, from the design and quality of the leather bound album itself, to the beautifully posed images on the pages themselves. I cannot believe the people in those photos are us, but it is. Our wall art is gorgeous as well, and is going to hang right above our mantel where our friends and family can see, but the album feels like our own secret gift for each other.
As we left our session I looked at my husband and knew that I didn’t even have to ask if he’d had a good time, his face said it all. I can already imagine us in 20 years looking back at these photos and saying, “that was us, look how happy and in love we were/still are!” Best. Anniversary. Gift. Ever.
Are you ready to book your Couples Boudoir Session? Call 610.539.6920 or go to http://allebachphotography.com/contact/.