Hello!

Now, if you’ve been on our blog before, much like albums, you’ll know how important we think engagement shoots are, so I’m going to dedicate the letter E in this series to purely talking about them, as well as linking to posts I’ve written before to give you some ideas for your own engagement shoot.

Why should I have an engagement shoot?

Two reasons mainly – firstly, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the fact that you’re engaged, which in itself is an amazing time and part of your story as a couple.  This gives you the chance to focus on the two of you, away from the wedmin (yes, an actual term for wedding admin), often in a location that means something to you both.  Be that where they used to spend a lot of time, like Hannah and Alex and their central London engagement shoot that started at a Victorian swimming baths, or where you first said you loved each other, like Eesha and Sanj and their Brighton beach engagement shoot.

Secondly, it acts as a dress rehearsal for your couple portraits on the day of your wedding.  As I chatted about in the letter C of this series, confidence in front of the camera is something many couples are concerned about, and with not taking you away from your guests for a more than half an hour on your wedding day, the engagement shoot means you can see how relaxed and natural it actually is in front of the camera.  Meaning that the half hour we spend together on your couple session on the big day, is seamless and we are able to create incredible images of you both without you feeling awkward, because you’ll be used to it a lot more and won’t need “warming up” on the day.

Where should I have my engagement shoot?

Well, I’ve previously written posts on exactly this and what to think about for different types of settings:

• City engagement shoots (based around London)
• Rural engagement shoots
• Home engagement shoots
• I haven’t written one for beaches (yet) but you can see some gorgeous ideas for beach based engagement shoots, not only in Eesha and Sanj’s further up, but with Sam and Matthew and their quirky beach huts, in Katrina and Chris’ relaxed Leigh on Sea engagement shoot or Sarah and Richard’s chilled out engagement shoot on a deserted secluded beach.

Engagement shoots really can take place anywhere, some places you may need a permit for, or there may be restrictions when you can freely shoot there, but you can let your creativity roam free!  And if you’re struggling on where to have it, then your photographer will be able to offer suggestions based on you as a couple and the vibe you’re going for.

What do I wear to an engagement shoot?

It’s important that you feel comfortable with what you’re wearing, after all, it needs to represent you both as a couple.  However, it’s always nice to be a little more glammed up than a regular walk on a weekend, so if you’re planning a trial with your makeup artist, you could arrange this for before your engagement shoot so you’re all pampered for it!  And whether you’re wrapping up warm because you’re shoot is in the middle of winter like Charlie and Freddie, where they came very stylishly ready to brace the -1 weather, you’re going for evening glam at the beautiful Pergola Gardens like Emily and James, or, like another shoot at Pergola Gardens, you’ve got heaps of style and coordinated sass like Oreoluwa and Toba, the key is for you to feel like you!

And if you’re really struggling, I’ve saved heaps of engagement shoot outfit inspiration on Pinterest you can take a nosey through.

Right, so what do I do with the images now that I have them?!

Well, much like your wedding photos, these look amazing printed and framed in your home, they can be turned into a signing frame or signing book for your guests to sign.  Or, you can get creative and we’ve seen them printed onto custom bottles of champagne, used in table plans or even printed onto icing to form part of the story film strip on a wedding cake!

Hopefully I’ve convinced you that engagement shoots are the way to go, after all, it’s why we include them in our wedding packages.  So, the only thing to ask now, is, where would you have yours?

Take care,

Amanda x