Engagement photos are a great way to announce your happy news to the world, get to know your photographer and become accustomed to being in front of the camera. After all, long after the ceremony and the reception are over, when the honeymoon is a happy memory and all the thank-you notes have been written, the one tangible item you’ll have to remember your big day (besides your marriage certificate!) is the photography.
We spoke with Josiah of Josiah & Steph Photography (who got married at Barn on Bridge, by the way!) for tips and strategies for engagement photos. In fact, they believe so much in an engagement photo session that they include it in all of their wedding packages.
Why You Need Engagement Photos
- A photo session gives you a chance to get to know your photographer and allows the photographer to get to know you.
- Unless you’re a professional model, it’s not as easy as it might seem to appear natural while being photographed. This outing is more low-key than your wedding day, so it’s a great opportunity to learn to get comfortable in front of the camera.
- A session gives the photographer a chance to learn about you, including your style, your preferences and how you want to present yourselves on camera, as well as the best angles to shoot you and which poses look best on you.
How to Use Engagement Photos
- An obvious choice is to make engagement announcements, but why not take it a step further and have custom stamps made to adorn your invitations, too?
- Create unique “save-the-date” cards.
- Use them as a key part of your wedding website (if you decide to make one).
- Your smiling faces can make for fun wedding décor. Let your imagination run wild! Take photos of the two of you holding numbers, then print, frame and use them for super-personalized table numbers. You could even get life-size cutouts made to use as a photo booth prop!
- Engagement photos make for wonderful family gifts, and pairing them with wedding day photos can be a nice juxtaposition.
What to Wear
- Let your personalities shine, but make sure you match in dressiness or casualness. You don’t want to look like one is going to the beach and the other to a black-tie affair.
- Josiah recommends choosing lighter tones and muted shades for outfit colors. Avoiding bright, bold colors helps bring all the attention to your faces, allowing the eyes to focus on the way you feel about each other.
- Long, flowy dresses and skirts tend to look the most stunning on camera, and they flatter the female body. They can also provide extra movement to the photos.
- For a sophisticated and masculine look, go with long pants and closed-toed shoes. They take the attention away from the legs and feet, while placing it where you want it: the face.
However you choose to use the photos, an engagement photo session is a chance for you and your partner to have fun without the pressure of wedding guests waiting for you to make an appearance. Getting to know your photographer in advance and knowing how you’ll work together on your wedding day can also alleviate at least some of those pre-wedding jitters!
Ready to start planning? Schedule a consultation with one of our event managers today!
Robert Ryan Catering and Design plans and executes over 400 events each year, boasts a five-star rating on WeddingWire and has received WeddingWire’s Couple’s Choice/Bride’s Choice Award seven years in a row. Learn more about Robert Ryan Catering & Design and tour our venues. Subscribe to our e-newsletter for exclusive offers, up-to-date news and recipes from our executive chef.
Photos: Josiah & Steph Photography
