Hopefully, you read my post a couple of weeks ago about why you should have an engagement session. Now that you’ve decided to schedule one, it’s important to plan well so that your engagement session shows who you are as a couple.

1. Talk to your photographer about what you like to do as a couple and places you like to go. If the two of you spend a ton of time at your local coffee shop, plan to go there as one of your locations. Maybe you guys love to cook together! Ask your photographer to come to your home and do some pictures of you in action. Make sure you add some personality into your session so that they look like YOU and tell part of your story.
2. Coordinate clothes, but don’t match too closely!! We’ve all seen those 80s pictures of the couple in matching polo shirts (cough, my sister, cough, cough). 🙂 You don’t want your clothes to clash, but coordinating colors will look great! Pinterest is a great place to find some inspiration on this. Whatever you choose to wear, just make sure it feels like you. I typically encourage couples to wear one dressy outfit, like a long, flowy dress for the girl and some nice tailored pants, shirt and tie or vest for the guy. Then you can add in 1-2 casual outfits and you’ll have a great set of looks.
3. Accessorize! It’s amazing how much accessories give some depth to your engagement photos. You can add all kinds of things, like jewelry, scarves, boots, layers, vests, hats, etc. Just pick one or two things for each outfit.
4. Be careful of the sun or fake tans as you get close to the session date. Sunburns and orange skin are not attractive. Try to keep any tan you have natural and line free.
5. Be well groomed on the day of your session! Men, tidy up any facial hair you have, make sure your haircut looks on point and your fingernails clean! You have no idea how often the groom has dirty fingernails. Ladies, get your hair, nails and makeup professionally done when possible! At the very least, make sure to practice these things ahead of time so the day of goes smoothly. For most of you, that will mean a neutral color on your nails. Again, be true to you! Don’t let your makeup artist throw tons of makeup on you if you never wear makeup. Ask for a more natural look and you’ll be much happier with the pictures.

Bonus tip: Plan to HAVE FUN!!! Your engagement session should be a fun date! Relax and plan to go out to eat afterwards. I mean, you look amazing so you might as well take advantage of it.

I’ll be back next week with more tips for the engaged couple!