10 Reasons to do an Engagement Session with Your Wedding Photographer
I am a huge fan of couples doing an engagement session with their chosen wedding photographer! I believe engagement sessions should be fun, but there’s also more to them. Here are my top 10 reasons why I think you should do an engagement session with your wedding photographer.
1. Save-the-date/Invitation content
There’s no better way to announce your upcoming wedding and show off your theme and style than using a professional engagement photo for your save-the-dates and invitations! As a photographer, it’s really helpful to know before the engagement session that you’re going to use a photo or photos or your save-the-dates and/or invitations.
2. Wedding day decorations
I love seeing couples use photos from their engagement session as wedding day decorations! From welcome signs to seating charts to table numbers, this is a great way to personalize your wedding day reception space while showcasing your love and connection. Incorporating photos from your engagement session into your wedding day decorations helps the whole day feel more intimate and authentic.
3. Makeup/Hair test run
Most hair and makeup artists will do a trial run, and this is a perfect time for it! Testing hair and makeup before the wedding day is crucial for brides to ensure they feel confident and beautiful when they walk down the aisle. A trial run allows them to see how their chosen styles look in real life and how they hold up over time, preventing any unwanted surprises on the big day. This is especially important because certain makeup products or hairstyles may not suit their skin type, face shape, or overall bridal vision as expected. A trial gives them the chance to make adjustments, whether it’s changing the lipstick shade, adjusting the level of foundation coverage, or tweaking the hairstyle for better comfort and longevity.
Additionally, a hair and makeup trial helps brides communicate clearly with their beauty team. It ensures that the stylist and makeup artist fully understand their preferences, reducing stress and saving time on the wedding day. Ultimately, a trial run provides peace of mind, allowing you to feel relaxed and confident on your wedding day, knowing your bridal look is exactly what you envisioned.
4. Reconnect with your partner (go for a date afterward)
Since you’re all made up and probably a little dressier than usual, it’s a great time to go out on a date after your engagement session. This can be especially important if you’re in the thick of planning your wedding; these opportunities to reconnect shouldn’t be overlooked. Staying connected during the wedding planning process is essential for engaged couples because it helps maintain an emotional bond and keeps the focus on what truly matters—your relationship. Planning a wedding can be stressful, with countless decisions, budgeting concerns, and differing opinions from family and friends. If you’re not intentional about staying connected, the process can become overwhelming, leading to unnecessary tension or disagreements.
Beyond managing stress, staying connected allows couples to enjoy the journey rather than just focusing on the final event. Taking time for date nights, discussing the future beyond the wedding, and reminding each other why you’re getting married in the first place helps keep the excitement alive. Wedding planning is just one chapter in your love story, and nurturing the relationship throughout the process sets the foundation for a strong, happy marriage. Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to have a beautiful wedding day—it’s to build a life together, and that starts with staying emotionally connected every step of the way.
5. Unlearn the bad “smile at the camera” habits
From as early as we can remember, we’ve all been taught to look at the camera and say “CHEEEEEEEEESE.” An engagement session is the perfect chance to break that habit and get used to expressing your emotions in a more authentic way. I like to get couples moving and interacting early in the engagement session to help get them focused on what really matters – each other! If you want your wedding day photos to really capture the love and emotion of the day, you need to unlearn the habit of the camera-aware forced smile.
6. Get comfortable being together in front of the camera
As a couple, you’re used to being yourselves in private, but during an engagement session, I’m trying to get you comfortable being intimate in front of someone you barely know who also happens to have a camera (or two). That’s a tall order, for sure, but I’m proud of being able to put couples at ease by being easy to talk to and creating a warm, welcoming environment no matter where we are. My goal as your photographer, is to get you comfortable enough in front of the camera that you can truly be yourselves even while I’m shooting.
7. Communicate to your photographer what matters most to you about your photos
Your engagement session should be a collaboration, and part of that will be you expressing what kind of photos mean the most to you. Do you really like and want camera-aware photos or do you prefer more candid photos of you both interacting? Do you have a side that you MUCH prefer being photographed? Do you have an insecurity that you want your photographer to minimize? These are just a few things to think about and communicate to your photographer.
8. Learn how your wedding photographer works
Just like not all wedding photographers have the same style, we also tend to have different ways of working. Some photographers will put you in a stiff, uncomfortable pose. I prefer to loosely pose couples and then prompt natural expressions, and I love to use movement and games to elicit natural reactions and a sense of playfulness. I am a very laid back person, so that’s also how I run my sessions.
9. Connect with your wedding photographer
I’ve written before about the importance of connecting with your wedding photographer, and the engagement session is the foundation for that connection. Remember, of all your wedding vendors, you will spend the most time around your photographer during the wedding day, and when you connect with your wedding photographer, it truly helps them see you better, and it helps you to be more comfortable in front of the camera … both lead to the photographer being better able to authentically capture who you are as a couple.
10. Your wedding day photos will be better
By doing an engagement session with your chosen wedding photographer, you’re ultimately making your wedding day photos better. By becoming more comfortable in front of the camera, by connecting with your photographer and learning about how they work, you’re helping to maximize photo time on the wedding day.