Once you get the ring, you start wedding planning and book your photographer. Then comes the engagement session!! This is something that many girls dream about and anticipate leading up to their engagement. They probably have a whole pinterest board dedicated to engagement pictures! This is an opportunity for you to bask in the joy of your recent engagement and capture this moment in time forever! I just love the giddy excitement that couples have during the engagement session as this is one of the first big steps in the wedding planning process! So along with all this excitement also comes the stress of planning the session! What to wear, where to do it, etc. You’ve been looking forward to this for so long, so you want to get it right! There are a few important factors to consider when planning for your engagement session. Here are a few tips to help you along the way!

Planning your outfits. The question I get the most when it comes to planning the engagement session is “what should we wear??” I know from experience that this can be a very stressful aspect of planning the session! Here are a few things to consider when picking out your outfits!

• Do coordinate, don’t match. One key thing to consider when picking out your outfits is to coordinate with each other versus match. This not only applies to the colors, but also to the overall style and aesthetic. If you’re outfits are too matchy-matchy, it may be distracting in the pictures. But you DO want to coordinate by picking complimentary colors and dressing with the same level of formality.
• Two outfits. I usually suggest bringing two outfits, one casual and the other a little more dressy. This way you can get a variety of looks in your session!
• Consider season and setting. You want to consider the season and setting you’ll be doing the session in. If you’re shooting in summer on the beach, wearing boots and scarves wouldn’t go well with the setting. But if your session takes place outside in the fall, then boots and scarves would be perfect!
• Avoid logos and small prints. A shirt with a big logo or a dress with a tiny intricate print may not photograph well during your session. A big logo can be distracting and tiny patterns won’t show up in your images. However, bold statement necklaces and scarves photograph beautifully!
• Be yourself. Everyone has that one piece of clothing that is SO them and flatters their figure perfectly. This is the type of thing that’d be great to wear for your engagement session! You want to be sure that you are feeling comfortable and confident during your session. And you also want to be sure that you look and feel like yourself!

Location, Location, Location. Another big factor in planning your engagement session is picking the location! Just like your outfits, you want to pick a location that goes with the overall style and aesthetic you envision for your session! If you and your fiance love going to the beach or are having a beach wedding, then maybe you’d like to do your session at the beach! Or if you love all things rustic and outdoors, then maybe you’d want to do your session in a rural location. Or maybe there’s a particular park where you spend a lot time together. Or the bridge where he proposed! There’s so many options to explore when picking your location! If you have no idea where to start, ask your photographer for a few local suggestions. They should know a few local places that are great for engagement sessions!Time of day. Natural light photographers normally rely solely on sunlight for engagement sessions. The time of day when the light is best for pictures is right before sunset and right after sunrise. This is when the sun is the lowest and makes for soft and flattering light! So you will want to schedule your sessions about 2 hours before sunset or right at sunrise, depending on how long your session will be. Also keep in mind, that if you are late to a session, there is no “pushing it back” since we can’t stop the sun from setting! So if you think there may be traffic on the way to your session, play it safe and leave a little early!Relax and have fun. This tip is probably the most important of all. Couples are often quite nervous at the beginning of their engagement shoot. This is probably their first time being professionally photographed in this manner and they’re afraid to look silly. It is totally normal to feel that way! Your photographer doesn’t expect you to be a pro at this. The best thing for you to do is just relax and trust your photographer! They will know how to pose you and make you look your best, so you don’t have to worry about a thing! They’ll tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, so all you have to do is listen and have fun! It usually takes about 15 minutes to get warmed up to the camera and then all those nerves just fade away! I always tell couples that if they feel awkward or weird then just laugh it out, because that makes for great pictures!I hope these tips were helpful!! Happly planning!!! :)