What Is An Engagement Session, and Should You Do One?
Woohoo! You’ve got engaged! You’re on cloud nine, you’re feeling more in love than ever before, and now you’ve got a wedding to plan. This is probably one of the most exciting times of your life, and I see the excitement in brides and grooms to be all of the time.
What actually is an engagement session? It's quite self explanatory really, but essentially this is a photoshoot for just you and your fiancé. Last normally between 1 and 2 hours, on location somewhere, you'll spend time in front of the camera with a professional photographer, taking photographs! Simple!
But should you bother doing one? After all, it's an investment, having photos taken can be scary, and is it really that important? Let's break it down!
1. Get Comfortable In Front of the Camera: Let’s face it, not many people enjoy having their photo taken - me included! It can be a nerve wracking, daunting feeling, so I always urge couples to spend time in front of the camera before their wedding day. That way, when the wedding day does come about, you’re feeling a million times more relaxed, and you already know what to expect!
2. Get To Know Your Photographer: Most likely, if you book a photographer for an engagement shoot, they’re also the photographer you want for your wedding day! So what better way to get to know them, and what they’ll really be like at your wedding than getting in front of the camera with them. I guarantee that by the end of your shoot, you’ll feel much more relaxed, and less intimidated by the camera.
3. Use It As Time Together: I love to encourage my couples to make a date day of their engagement sessions. Spending the whole day together, go for a walk, have a nice lunch, and then try to organise your session in a place that means something to you. Perhaps the place that you got engaged, or where you had your first date, or just your favourite spot to look out over a view.
4. Use Your Engagement session as a chance to have your make up and hair trial done: This is something that a lot of people miss out on, but you invest money in talented hair and make up artists, make yourself look beautiful.. and then it all goes to waste! Why not take advantage of your beautiful look and have some photos done with it? If you want to keep your make up and hair a surprise for the day, why not ask for your make up and hair stylist to make a really small change just before you leave (ie. remove some eyeshaddow, or eyeliner, or undo an undo and leave you with the loose waves) so that you’re still done up, but not exactly how you’ll look on your wedding day!
5. The Images Will Serve As Memories Of Your Life “Pre Marriage”: Your wedding day is probably going to be one of the best days of your life, but that doesn’t mean that everything that happens before it isn’t significant. Let your engagement images serve as that reminder of how blissful life was pre wedding, too!
6. You Could Use These Photos On Your “Save The Date” invitations: I love the idea of including a portrait of a the bride and groom to be on the save the date cards! It’s a much more personal way of announcing when your wedding will be.
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