You got engaged. YAY!. You picked a date. HECK YA! You booked your photographer. INCREDIBLE! Now your photographer is talking about engagement pictures, and your fiance (and okay.. you) are wondering why you even need to get this set of pictures done when you are only months away from getting your wedding pictures taken. What is the purpose? Are you even going to use them after your wedding? There are a lot of reasons why I include an engagement session in every one of my wedding packages. Here are the 3 most important reasons:

To document this important season in your life. 

Yes, you are going to have your wedding pictures taken in just a few months. Yes, those photos are arguably more important than your engagement pictures. However, there is never a photo that you regret taking. Life happens and time flies by. The more photos you have from a season of your life, the better you are able to remember that season in the future. You can look back on this season and remember how happy and excited you were for the future to come. You can remember the spots you loved to go to as a couple (because you should totally incorporate this into your session). You can remember what you looked like. You can remember it all a little bit better. This is a season that is worth documenting.

To get to know your photographer. 

Your photographer is the person you will spend the most time with on your wedding day. They are in every moment. They are helping you get from spot to spot, fluffing your dress, ensuring you are on time, spying on your private moments. They are with you all day long. If this person is a stranger, these moments can be a bit awkward. At your engagement session you spend a lot of time just chatting about life. This makes the entire wedding day so much easier because you already know each other. You are already friends. When a friend is there capturing your first look, it feels a lot more natural than if a stranger is. Your engagement session allows your photographer to go from stranger to friend.

To become more comfortable in front of the camera. 

Not everybody is a celebrity getting their picture taken everyday. Okay, probably none of us reading this right now are. And that is totally okay!!! But this also means that none of us are probably comfortable in front of the camera right away. We all need some time to get over the fact that this person is telling us what to do and pointing a black box that makes a noise at us while we kiss and get all close. It’s okay that you feel a little awkward when you are first getting your photos taken. It’s expected. When you have an engagement session, you get those nerves and uncomfortable moments out of the way BEFORE your wedding day when you may or may not have plenty of nerves for other reasons. When you know your photographer and how they pose you, your wedding pictures automatically go smoother. You can work quicker through portraits allowing you more time to spend with your wedding guests. You can show more emotion in your photos because you don’t even notice the camera is there anymore. You are comfortable, and that makes all of the difference.

Are you still on the fence? Take it from a couple of my previous wedding clients that used the free engagement session that comes with every one of my wedding packages.

“Being able to have the opportunity to take engagement pictures with Rachel before our wedding day relieved so much stress for Logan and I. During our engagement sessions, we had the opportunity to become comfortable and relaxed with Rachel and in front of the camera so when our big day came it was like catching up with a friend – we laughed and had a great day.” – Amanda Sampsel, 2022 Wedding Client 

“Rachel is one of a kind and truly a gem. We recently had her as our photographer for our wedding and engagement photos. When doing our engagement photos, she made us laugh like kids and brought out our true selves. It was a blast. This engagement session allowed all of us to get to know one another. Wedding day pictures were a breeze. Rachel was quick to navigate family, bridal party, and everything in between. She made us feel special and took away all the stress of the day.”  – Caitlyn Schuster, 2022 Wedding Client

Are you ready to book your wedding or engagement picture session? Inquire with me here!