This post is meant to be short, sweet and helpful (hopefully!) for all of my #erinmariecouples that have an upcoming engagement session! I remember how stressed out I was trying to put together my own outfits when it came time for our engagement session. There were things I liked and didn’t like about everything I tried on and I ended up going with a pretty basic look of two different sweaters, jeans and flats. Looking back on those photos now, of course I love them because they are of me and my now husband, but I do wish we would have gone a bit more dressy with at least one of our outfits. Stressing about what to wear for professional photos is SO COMMON so don’t feel like you’re alone if you have no idea what to wear! I want to help eliminate that stress so you can just focus on the excitement that comes with being engaged! This guide is meant to be just that, a guide! Don’t read this and think of it as a strict “manual”. Of course I want you to look and feel their best but above all, I want you to ENJOY your engagement session and HAVE FUN! So without further ado, here are my tips for dressing for your engagement session! 🙂
- Think from your head down to your toes! What I mean by that is first deciding if you’re going to want professional hair and makeup done (which I highly recommend doing!) And more specifically, how you want your hair styled. Whether you will want your hair up or down will determine where you go from there! For example. I prefer my hair down UNLESS I’m wearing a scarf; then I prefer it up and I make sure to wear statement earrings! Once you know those details, then you can start working on your outfit, then pick your shoes to match! See? Simple! Just remember – head to toes!
- Don’t worry about being too dressed up! These are your ENGAGEMENT pictures. As in, you will only be engaged for this short amount of time in your life and it’s a special time indeed! This is the time that you and your fiance are planning for one of the most exciting and special days of your lives together! As I mentioned before, I do wish we had dressed up a bit more for at least one of our outfits. That way we would have had one dressier outfit and one more casual outfit. I’m not suggesting you show up in black tie attire (unless you want to than by all means!), but think about what you hope to see when you look back on your images… do you want to see you and your fiance in sharp, eye-catching outfits or do you want to look back and see yourself in attire that gives off more of a casual vibe? The choice is yours!
- Flowy is best! Flowy dresses and/or skirts photograph BEAUTIFULLY. The movement and softness they give to photographs is dreamy which make them my go-to outfit suggestions when my couples ask for my opinion. Flowy dresses / skirts also give off a more formal vibe compared to tight fitting clothing, and there’s no question you will probably be a lot comfier in a flowy skirt rather than a tight mini skirt (luckily those aren’t really in anymore anyway!)
- Two is better than one! I’ve touched on this multiple times already, but I HIGHLY recommend bringing two outfits – one being the dressier outfit, while the other can be a bit more casual. For example, one outfit for you and your fiance could look like nice slacks and a tucked in button down shirt for him, paired with a long floral flowy dress and heels for you. While the other outfit could be dark washed denim paired with a pattered button down for him and skinny’s with wedges and a cute blouse for you. I build time into engagement sessions for changing so no need to worry about that taking away from portrait time! Another thing to keep in mind, two outfits will allow for SO much more VARIETY in the final gallery than if you just go with one outfit. There’s only so much we can do in the same outfit without it starting to look like repeating images, even with changing locations!
- Dress to coordinate, not match! We don’t want to give off a family Christmas photo vibe like wearing matching plaid so, what I would recommend would be to COORDINATE your outfits. What I mean by that is focus on what your main outfit colors are going to be and go from there. For example, if you’re wearing a light blue blouse, your fiance could wear a dark blue shirt. Or you could wear a floral dress and have your fiance pick a button down shirt that compliments the colors in your dress. It sounds daunting, but I promise it’s easier to do than you think!
- *Bonus Tip* Prepare for the weather and terrain! This is SO important and something that many seem to miss because they are too worried about getting their outfits just right! If we are having your engagement session during the summer months, make sure to bring water and a pair of flats or comfy footwear so you can easily walk to the different locations. If we will be shooting in the fall/winter months, make sure to bring a warm jacket as well as warm boots that can be easily slipped on for in between shots and locations!
Remember, this is a GUIDE. It’s something I would have loved to have for our engagement session so I thought why not provide these helpful tips for my couples! I want you and your fiance to feel comfortable and confident because those two things are what photograph the BEST! 🙂 I’ve included some images below to help guide you even further because I know some people (like myself) understand things a little better when you can actually SEE it in action.
