Greg Brett Studios Photography

How to Plan a Picture Perfect Engagement Shoot!

Engagement Session tips by guest blogger Rebecca Burke

Engagement photos are an essential part of the documentation of your engagement. Not only do these photos showcase the bliss surrounding an engagement ad impending marriage, they can be used in a number of ways to broadcast your upcoming nuptials. Send your engagement announcement along with the photo to your local newspaper, incorporate them in your wedding invitations, favors, and other decorations, or give them to your guests as wedding keepsakes. Additionally, engagement photos also allow couples to have a trial run with their wedding photographer before their special day. So how do you prepare for an engagement photo shoot? First, establish the style and location you’d like to use, next create a list of any special items you’ll need during the shoot, and finally, develop a time frame of when you’d like the photos to go out. By keeping these tips in mind when planning your engagement photo session, you’re sure to have the perfect photos that illustrate your undying love.

Devise a Theme That Suits Your Personality as a Couple

In creating the perfect engagement photo, it’s important to have a unique shoot. Although your photographer may have his or her own photo ideas, you should come prepared with a story line or thoughts about a theme for your photography session as this is a crucial element of the engagement photo shoot process. Perhaps you’d like a few photos recreating your proposal with your partner down on one knee presenting you with your ring from 77Diamonds. If you aren’t quite sure about a theme for your engagement photo shoot, no to worries—there are plenty of fun, creative engagement photo shoot ideas and themes out there. Remember to include significant items or tokens that are meaningful to you and your future spouse.

Organize a Schedule for Your Photo Shoot

From the moment you say ‘yes’ to his proposal, wedding scheduling becomes the single most important part of your wedding arrangements. Much like the preparations it takes to assemble and send off your engagement announcements, save-the-dates, and wedding invitations, coordinating your engagement photo shoot schedule demands just as much organization. One way to arrange your engagement photo shoot is to center it around how and when you plan to use your photos. For example, some newly engaged couples choose to have their engagement photos snapped shortly after they become engaged, which is the best time since you’ll both still be beaming and full of excitement from the recent proposal. This is also a good time if you plan on announcing your engagement in a newspaper or magazine. Other couples opt to take their engagement photos once they have set their wedding date so they can use the photos on items connected to the wedding, such as the formal print wedding announcements and ceremony programs or on a your wedding website. If you and your fiance plan on following this tradition, you should aim to have your engagement photos taken eight to ten months prior to the wedding, which allows plenty of time to print and post your save-the-dates before your nuptials. Some soon-to-be-wed couples choose not to have their engagement photos taken until a month or two before the wedding so that their guests get a sample of what’s to come on your big day.