You’re engaged! You’ve shared the news with all of your close family and friends! You’ve picked a date for your wedding! Now it’s time to start thinking about engagement photos! I love engagement sessions! Weddings are amazing, but engagement sessions are so much fun too! It may be the first time that you’ve taken professional photos with your other half! Or maybe you’ve had photos taken before but it’s been a while! Either way, I’ve got you covered! I am going to share tips on how to prepare for your engagement photos!

Makeup is Important

I am just going to be completely honest! My knowledge of makeup stops at foundation, mascara, and lipstick! That’s it! But over the years, I’ve learned that makeup is so important when it comes to creating amazing engagement photos! I highly suggest that you hire a makeup artist who has experience with creating different looks! Depending on your outfit choice, you may want a more dramatic look to your makeup or a more casual, laid back vibe! Either way, makeup is key! I promise that you’ll be so much happier with your look and your photos!

 

Choose a Location

When it comes to choosing a location, I am happy to suggest some great ones to you! There are lots of locations that work great for engagement photos in the Raleigh-Durham area! We also love traveling for engagement photos! One of our favorite travel locations was the Brooklyn Bridge in New York! That was a bunch of fun! I always suggest choosing a location that fits you guys as a couple! Or that fits your wedding theme! For example, if you’re having a spring wedding in a beautiful garden, we can plan your engagement photos at a nearby garden or park! Or if you’re getting married at a museum, we can plan to take photos at the museum! The possibilities are endless when it comes to choosing a location for your engagement photos!

Pick Your Props

Props are always fun! I suggest picking your props based on your story! For example, maybe you guys met at Starbucks! You can bring along Starbucks cups! Or maybe you two really love watching football together! You could wear your favorite team or schools jersey! Here are a few of the more popular props that we’ve seen over the years!

• Balloons
• Football
• Basketball
• Hockey puck
• Blankets
• Matching shirts or jerseys
• 

Go Shopping

Who doesn’t like shopping? I definitely do! Now that you’ve thought about your locations and props, it’s time to start thinking about what to wear for your engagement photos! I suggest choosing 2 outfits for your engagement photo session! I love when couples choose a formal, dressy outfit followed by a more casual outfit! I feel like it gives you the best of both worlds and adds a lot of variety into your photo session!

Prepare your Groom

This is a big one! Prepare your groom for photos before your session! I suggest sharing some of your favorite photos with him! Have him to look at different photos and pay close attention to the hands and poses of the groom! It really helps when the groom has an idea of what is expected of him when he arrives at the session! Of course, we’ll give you guys guidance, but a little early preparation doesn’t hurt!

Relax

My last tip on how to prepare for your engagement photos is to just relax! Planning a wedding is stressful! I know! I’m the girl who didn’t think she was stressed out before our wedding but I lost like 5 lbs the week of our wedding! I was stressing! Instead of stressing about all of the little details, I suggest that you just relax! Your engagement photo session will be fun! You’ll be great in front of the camera! You’ll look amazing in your photos! So just relax and have fun! Remember that at the end of the day, you’re marrying the love of your life and that’s all that really matters!