Preparing For Your Engagement Session
APRIL 3, 2023
Engagements are so engaging! Romance is in the air and the anticipation of a lifetime together comes to a crescendo in the fleeting weeks leading up to your wedding, causing you to wonder: "Is an Engagement Session really necessary? After all, don’t the wedding pictures represent the beginning of our lives together?"
I believe having an Engagement Session is important for several reasons. First, this time allows you, as a couple, to get comfortable in front of the camera with your photographer, and figure out how you work best together before the main event. Next, you can showcase your personalities in a more casual setting, while creating some fun, memorable images for wall portraits, your save the dates, your wedding guest book and thank you cards. Best of all, you can remember this special time forever with personal memories of just the two of you.
While I don’t require my couples to do an engagement session, I highly recommend it! During your engagement session, you will also have the chance to get to know me and experience how I shoot. This session will make a HUGE impact on how the wedding day flows. I’ll arrive on your wedding day already knowing how you two interact, what your best poses and angles are, and how to photograph you in a genuine way! Your wedding portraits will be a breeze because of the great practice you had during your engagement session, and that’s how it should be!
I realize that preparing for your engagement session can be a little overwhelming. In this post, I’ll be providing ways to help make your shoot the best it can possibly be!
Location & Time.
I LOVE it when couples pick a location that is special or sentimental to them in some way! It makes the session all the more meaningful. If you can’t think of anywhere specific that you would like to shoot, I can help you decide on a location. I love to shoot my engagement sessions in the evenings to ensure we get that beautiful sun light in the backdrop! Engagement sessions typically start between 5-7pm depending on the sun position and the time of the year. In the winter months, 3-5pm is a perfect time frame for an engagement shoot!
What to Wear.
In the days leading up to the engagement session, I email a guide to each of my couples! The guide is FULL of style tips as you plan for your engagement session! I encourage all of my couples to review this guide before you go shopping for your e-session outfits because it will help guide you in selecting clothing that is flattering on camera! Most of my couples find these tips really helpful and say that it brings up several points they wouldn’t have thought of themselves.
Get Your Hair & Makeup Done.
Your engagement session is the perfect time to test out your wedding day look! You’ll need to do a hair and makeup trial with your hair and makeup artists before your wedding day anyways, so why not get all glammed up for your engagement photos?! This will also give you the chance to see how your hair and makeup photograph before your big day!
Get a Mani Pedi.
Having a fresh Mani Pedi makes such a difference for your engagement photos! It will help you to feel more confident and put together. It also allows me to take some beautiful close-ups of that ring! This is a great opportunity to, maybe, test out the nail color you plan to wear on your wedding day.
Have Your Ring Cleaned.
Make sure you get your ring cleaned so it’s nice and sparkly for its close-up! This is something that most brides don’t think of doing this before the engagement session, but it really does make a big difference. You can simply give it a quick scrub at home (my favorite way to do this is to soak it in some warm water and Dawn dish soap or take it to your jeweler for a professional cleaning. It will make it really shine!
Bring a Small Bag.
Most couples don't think about this, but bring a small bag of some essentials to help you have the best engagement session. Here's a quick list of some items to bring.
Additional outfits (if you plan on wearing more than one).
If you wear heels, flats for walking between photo spots.
Makeup for touch-ups.
A couple bottles of water (for summer sessions).
Coat (for winter sessions).
Money for parking fees (if applicable).
Make It a Date Night.
You’re already all dressed up for your engagement session. Celebrate! Make a reservation at your favorite date night spot or try somewhere new!
Ready to Book Your Engagement Session?
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