Why do an Engagement Session

If you’ve chatted with me at any point about a wedding package, I probably mentioned that an engagement session is complimentary with all my packages! This wasn’t always the case. In my early years of business, I didn’t do engagement sessions for all of my couples for one reason or another but I found this to be such a detriment to both my couple and to myself! For the couples that I didn’t do an engagement session for, I would show up on the wedding day not hardly knowing the bride at all and sometimes never having met the groom. Similarly, the bride and groom didn’t know us either and had no idea what to expect when working with us and we’d spend half the wedding day just getting comfortable with each other. I want to serve you both the best way I can so you enjoy your wedding day. Here are a few reasons why doing an engagement session is so helpful for you… and me!

1. It allows us to get to know each other!

For me, and the way I run my business, you are not just “another wedding” or “another couple” and I don’t want to be “just another vendor” to you. I want to get to know you and your fiancé, I want to know what your personalities are like and how you interact with each other. The better we know each other, the more comfortable you are with me. And the more comfortable you are with me, the better pictures we are going to get. Guaranteed. Think back to the last time you met someone. Were you comfortable being 100% yourself with that perfect stranger? Nope, me neither. My favorite type of photos to take are the ones where you two look like you’re having so much fun, laughing together, and enjoying each other’s company.  But that doesn’t usually happen right off

2. It will allow you to know how I work!

9 times out of 10 either the bride or the groom will say something to me before their engagement session like, “I’m not good at this, I don’t know what to do in front of a camera.” Perfect! Then you will be so much better at this than if you were a model and tried to pose yourself while I had a different vision in mind. You’ll find that I love to talk with you throughout the whole session, whether I’m giving you guidance on how to stand or where to look, I’m joking with you or I’m asking questions so I can get to know you better! We’ll avoid those awkward silences, I won’t be shouting commands at you and you’ll find that you’re really a lot better at being in front of a camera than you thought! Again, the more comfortable you are, the more of your personality will shine through, and THAT’S what I really want!  

the bat, it happens as you both become more comfortable with me! This is a big one for everyone, but in my experience, its especially true for grooms! So if your groom is really feeling funny about having his picture taken, an engagement session would be even more advantageous for him!

For me, and the way I run my business, you are not just “another wedding” or “another couple” and I don’t want to be “just another vendor” to you. I want to get to know you and your fiancé, I want to know what your personalities are like and how you interact with each other. The better we know each other, the more comfortable you are with me. And the more comfortable you are with me, the better pictures we are going to get. Guaranteed. Think back to the last time you met someone. Were you comfortable being 100% yourself with that perfect stranger? Nope, me neither. My favorite type of photos to take are the ones where you two look like you’re having so much fun, laughing together, and enjoying each other’s company. But that doesn’t usually happen right off the bat, it happens as you both become more comfortable with me! This is a big one for everyone, but in my experience, its especially true for grooms! So if your groom is really feeling funny about having his picture taken, an engagement session would be even more advantageous for him!

3. It will allow us to practice for the wedding day!

At the beginning of your engagement session, I’ll teach you the four core poses that I use as a springboard. I’ll teach your groom how to “nuzzle” so we get those really cute, romantic pictures. I’ll show you how to stand in a way that is flattering to everyone. I’ll guide you each step of the way through your session and before you know it, you’ll have it down pat. I’ll also be able to pick up on whether you’re really outgoing and don’t mind displaying lots of affection for each other or if you’re more reserved and aren’t as comfortable being playful. Once we get to the wedding day, you guys will know exactly what to do and you’ll have one less thing to worry about that day!

4. It will allow you to have more casual photos of the two of you

Doing an engagement session will give us a chance to capture some fun, more casual pictures of your relationship that really bring out your personalities and interests. On your wedding day you’ll be dressed to the hilt but for your engagement session, you’ll most likely be dressed a little more casually which will free you up to do more fun, out of the box shots (like rolling up your jeans and wading through the creek together!). Speaking of wading through a creek together, on the wedding day we are pretty limited to doing pictures at or close to your venue but for your engagement session we can get creative! If you love to hike together, let’s shoot at a gorgeous hiking location! If you love to boat or spend time on the lake together, let’s go there for your session! The sky’s the limit!

There are so many fun reasons for doing an engagement session but getting to know one another and what to expect will help you tremendously on your wedding day! As we walked back to our cars at the end of Kelsey and Chris’ engagement session (their photo is above!), I loved that Chris was comfortable enough to tell me that he had been dreading their session but that, “As much as I wasn’t looking forward to it, I had more fun than I was expecting!” THAT ya’ll, is why do an engagement session. Now that you’ve read all about them, come on over to my blog and check out my latest sessions!