Happy Monday friends! I’m so excited to finally be sharing my engagement photos with you guys. We had tons of fun shooting them and we are both really happy with the way they turned out. However… like most wedding related things, planning everything for our engagement pictures was kinda stressful. Choosing what to wear, coordinating it with Austin, and coming up with a location had me feeling a little overwhelmed. So I wanted to share a few tips with you guys to make your engagement pics go as smoothly as possible:
1. Think about where you want to take the photos. Is there a spot that’s special to both of you? Or one that captures the vibe of your wedding? Austin and I chose Laguna Gloria because it had a similar aesthetic to our actual venue. We are using an image or two for our save the date cards, so we wanted to make sure everything went well together.
2. Gather some inspiration and show your photographer. Before our shoot I got on Pinterest to get some ideas on outfits and especially posing. I wanted our photos to have the classic romantic feel that most engagement pictures do, but I also wanted everything to look and feel very natural. Having an idea of how we wanted to position ourselves prior to the shoot was really helpful! If your photographer is experienced, he/she will probably have some suggestions as well.
3. Once you have some inspiration and a spot or two in mind to shoot, you can start thinking about outfits. Is the venue fancy or casual? Modern or rustic? You’ll most likely want the style and colors of your outfits to match the style of the setting. Choosing a color scheme that you want to stick to before you start shopping/raiding your closet helps keep you on track.
4. After you capture the style and color palette that you’re going for, it’s time to start putting some outfits together. Be sure to coordinate with your significant other so you guys don’t clash! Additionally, I think it’s important to wear something that both of you are comfortable in. I’d also suggest to keep things pretty simple and classic. Y’all know I’m all about trendy clothing, but these are photos that you are going to keep forever. They’ll probably hang somewhere in your house one day! You don’t want to look at them and think geez, what was I thinking?!
5. Make sure to order your clothes/have everything picked out well in advance so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute. Some of the stores that I had the most luck at finding appropriate pieces for the look I was going for were Nordstrom, Free People, ASOS, and Revolve. I have some similar things linked for you guys down below!
Photos by Brandon Hill