In this study, systematic experiments are conducted on a vertical rigid cylinder with two degrees of freedom in the subcritical Reynolds-number regime. The selected flow conditions cover the excitation stage, the lock-in stage, and the post-lock-in stage of vortex-induced vibration. Structural displacements, hydrodynamic forces, and wake vorticity fields are measured simultaneously using laser displacement sensors, force transducers, and particle image velocimetry. The results show that the cross-flow motion remains dominant throughout the investigated range, while the in-line motion is activated through phase coupling within the lock-in region. A stage-dependent redistribution of hydrodynamic loading is identified. The loading first concentrates in the cross-flow direction during synchronization, then partially shifts toward the in-line direction under coupled motion, and finally becomes spatially dispersed as desynchronization develops. This directional redistribution moderates the peak cross-flow amplitude, broadens the lock-in region, and alters the sequence of force-coefficient peaks. The synchronized wake measurements reveal that the flow evolves from incoherent structures to organized vortex streets and then to fragmented and irregular patterns, directly reflecting the formation and collapse of directional load concentration. These findings establish a consistent linkage between hydrodynamic loading, structural response, and wake evolution, and provide experimental evidence for the coupled dynamics of two-degree-of-freedom vortex-induced vibration, offering physical insight for the design and assessment of realistic marine cylindrical structures.