Mad About…Engagement Sessions
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Posted in Mad About... , Photography
One thing I think all couples should take advantage of is an engagement session with their wedding photographer. Sometimes called pre-wedding shoots or e-sessions, I love the idea of having photographs taken before your wedding to celebrate this special time and the love you have for each other.
On a practical note, your engagement shoot helps you get used to being in front of the camera and build a rapport with your photographer, meaning you will feel more relaxed and natural on the wedding day. This may be particularly beneficial if you are dreading the thought of having your photograph taken, and are worried about looking tense or awkward.
However, the main reason I love these pre-wedding photograph sessions is that they’re fun! Your engagement is a time when you are head over heels in love, so why not celebrate it with some beautiful images to treasure for years to come? It’s the start of your journey as husband and wife, and I think it’s a great way of documenting your pre-wedding story.
Your wedding photographer may suggest holding an engagement session at your venue, and this is a great idea if you want to check out possible photograph sites, particularly if your photographer hasn’t worked at the venue before. However, I particularly love the shoots that are really creative and, like the wedding design, bring out the couples’ personalities, tastes and style. Talk to your photographer about the type of images you would like to create, and seek their advice about props, composition and locations.
Naturally you should feel comfortable when being photographed, so if you hate the thought of doing funky poses or dressing up then don’t! The most important thing is to feel happy and relaxed, and create images that are really personal and meaningful to you. I think this engagement session by Segerius-Bruce is just gorgeous. As the bride and groom both work as architects in London , they chose to have their shoot in the city using some famous landmarks as the backdrop.
I also absolutely adore this session that I found on Snippet and Ink . The groom is a pilot based in New York and the bride lives in LA, so to reflect their long distance relationship they arranged for their engagement photographs to be taken at an airport, and used a small suitcase and paper planes made out of maps as additional props. Simple, beautiful and totally inspired!
Now if you’ve read my post about photograph accessories you’ll know that I love it when couples use fun and quirky props for their wedding photographs, and engagement shoots are no exception! Using something as simple as balloons can be incredibly effective, and can help you relax and have fun if you’re feeling a bit nervous about being photographed.
I love the way the scrabble board has been used in this shoot to spell out the wedding date, and I can see this working really well as the basis for a personalised save the date design!
If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, or want to tie your engagement photographs in with your wedding style, consider basing your session around a particular theme. For example, this couple were having a movie-themed wedding so decided to have a 1940s movie-themed engagement session.
Whilst we’re on the subject of ‘themed’ shoots, this Breakfast at Tiffany’s session has to be my absolute favourite. What other chance will you have to dress up like Audrey Hepburn and just look totally glamorous?!
Have you had an inspiring engagement session that you’d like to share with us? Send me your images at and I’ll feature them here on the blog!
Photo Credits:
Holding hands and London shots:
Segerius-Bruce Photography
Plane shoot:
Caroline Tran
via
Snippet and Ink
Heart balloons:
Sarah Yates
via
Green Wedding Shoes
Red balloons:
Snippet and Ink
Yellow balloon:
Jodi Miller
via
The Brides Cafe
Scrabble board:
He & She Photography
via
Once Wed
1940s movie-themed shoot:
Julia Boggio
Breakfast at Tiffany’s shoot:
Axioo Photography
via
Green Wedding Shoes
