Engagement photos!
I’ve answered this question a few times with my brides and why I encourage them to schedule an engagement session with their photographer. Instead of answering it on the blog as your planner, I want to tell you about our experience and why it meant so much to me as a bride!
For our wedding, we were planning the event living outside of Philadelphia but to take place in my hometown, Williamsburg, VA later that year. One thing I knew right off the bat is I wanted one of my right-hand girls to be our photographer, Olivia Rae Photography! Luckily, she lived in our area so we were not limited by traveling over state lines to take our photos, only by the weather!
Olivia was not just a friend though, she is a trusted professional so I knew our wedding photos would be in great hands right off the bat! Having that trust in your photographer is SO important, and hiring a professional is equally if not more so important!
I also knew she would be great at what I pictured my fiance and my’s dynamic to be. I was excited and bubbly and couldn’t wait to have our photos taken! My fiance at the time was LESS than excited for a photo shoot. I hear this from my brides as one of the main reasons they don’t want to do the engagement shoot – their fiance really doesn’t want to, nor does he see the point. He is not alone in that, and that is OK! Or if you as the bride feel that way, it’s OK!
But. Your photographer needs that time and chance to get to know you both, behind the camera. You all will learn how to best communicate, your endurance for photos (trust me that’s a thing), plus you end up laughing through the whole session as you learn fun facts and jokes about one another creating authentic smiles!
Your engagement session turns out to be a little practice session for your wedding photos. On your wedding day, your photographer will be just as close and personal with you along your day as we will be as your planner (I’m talking zipping up your dress personal! ;))
You want to know them, trust them, feel comfortable, and not think twice about anything else with them – only focus on saying “I do!”
To sum it up, as my girl Olivia says:
“I love engagement sessions! They give me a chance to get to know my couples and my couples to get to know me. I am able to teach them some core poses and as a result, it gets them comfortable in front of the camera. It truly is a practice round for the wedding day. I tell my couples that an engagement session is pretty much a one-hour cuddle session 🙂 I mean, who doesn’t want that?!”
Now that you’ve scheduled your engagement shoot, its time to go shopping!
We have seen some great outfits and inspiration for engagement sessions. In fact, we created a whole board on Pinterest here!
But, my advice: error on the side of chic but still comfortable. Don’t be afraid to dress up a little! We love a good Maxi, or skirt that twirls (should out to our November Bride!). And if you want to have two looks, your second can be a little more casual like jeans and a flowy sweater. Whatever you wear, make sure you are comfortable in it. Feel beautiful in what you have on and the rest will take care of itself!
Tip: be sure to let your photographer know if any vendors help contribute to your engagement shoot! It’s fun to tag the boutique your dress came from, or your hair and make-up help!
Still wondering about an engagement session? Check out this blog post by Renee Nicolo Photography on what the experience might look like so you can know what to expect!
Still wondering what to wear for an engagement session? Check out this blog post by Olivia Rae Photography (OUR photographer!) who breaks it down for you with links, and seasonal inspiration!
Oh, and if you want to see the end result from OUR engagement session now knowing our dynamic, here you go 🙂
