So you’ve gotten engaged. 

Your significant other has popped the question and immediately, dreams of your wedding day begin to float around in your mind. You can already picture how that one perfect image from your wedding day will look hanging on your wall––easy tiger!

Before you begin to siphon through your wedding day Pinterest board and stress about the many details of “the big day,” why not take a moment to enjoy (and preserve) the simple joy of being engaged? 

For this reason, and many more to follow, we are firm believers in the value of an engagement session before you wed––so much so, that we include an engagement session as a gift with all of our full-day wedding photography collections! Keep reading for a breakdown of why an engagement photo session should be on your list.

The Experience

Scheduling an engagement session provides an opportunity for us to get to know you, and for you to get to know us. We find it deeply important for us to get to know our wedding couples to to create a comfort level before we are with them all day on the biggest days of their life. Getting together for photos provides an opportunity to build a level of trust and confidence. 

Learning how to be on camera together and having an established comfort level allows your wedding day go that much smoother––if you feel comfortable with a lens in front of you, you’ve got one less thing to stress about on a day that can generally be, you know, a bit hectic. 

The Photos

Of course, the fun part is having the photos themselves! Having even a few professional engagement photos can be so versatile and come in handy for a variety of things.

Use your engagement pics for your save the dates, wedding website, welcome table, guest book, prints for your home, thank you cards for your bridal party, and more! There are truly countless ways to utilize these great photos of the two of you in your element.

Wedding photography in California

From our own experience, we loved taking engagement photos, as it was more “us,” and simply more relaxed. The wedding day can be (& almost always is) full of stress and emotion––this time together allows for a more casual, authentic, and laidback expression of the love you share.

We encourage bringing your own personality and meaningful tidbits into your session. Take it as an opportunity to represent what about your connection is special to you. For example, we had a great time photographing Amanda & Kevin, two adorable Harry Potter fanatics who wanted to represent their shared love for the series in their engagement photos in Oakland Redwood Park.

It’s always fun to choose a meaningful location for these photos, like the place you met, were proposed to, or shared a special moment. You can even center your session around an activity you love, like hiking, wine tasting, or paying a visit to your favorite restaurant. We’d even love to meet up while you’re traveling for an extra special destination engagement, like this sweet Joshua Tree session we had recently with Morgan and Jimmy.

If you’re still not convinced… here are a few more tidbits about the value of engagement sessions.

• This is a great excuse to set up a hair and makeup trial with your potential wedding artists!

• Once you’re all dressed up, you can plan a date night with your significant other for after the session. Planning a wedding can be stressful––take this opportunity to enjoy your engagement and one another’s company.

• You can bring your dog. (And we hope you do!)

We hope that by now you’re a believer in engagement sessions, too. We love sharing this special time with our couples, and hope that you love it just as much.