Congratulations!!!!! You’ve said “YES” to your best friend, you’ve put that gorgeous princess-cut diamond on your finger, you’ve called your grandparents and now you’re looking for vendors in the Louisville area and making wedding day decisions. But as you research wedding photography, you realize that some photographers include an engagement session for their clients and others don’t. What’s the difference? Maybe your cousin took some adorable photos of you the day you got engaged. Do you really still need an engagement session?

We feel strongly that ALL of our couples need a dedicated engagement session with us prior to their wedding day – that’s why we include it with our Wedding Experience! We believe it’s an opportunity for us to get to you know as a couple, for you to practice being in front of the camera and for you to take home relaxed portraits of the two of you without being in full wedding attire.

Getting To Know You

Do you know who spends more time with the bride on her wedding day than the groom? Probably your photographers!! We’re there while you’re getting ready, during your first look, while you’re waiting for the chapel doors to open to walk down the aisle and as you drive away form your reception! We don’t take this privilege for granted and we want to get to know you before then! An engagement session gives us the opportunity to see you interact with each other, to joke around and to learn what you’re looking forward to most about your wedding day. When the big day rolls around, we’ll know even better how to best serve you and you won’t have to spend your wedding day with strangers!

Practice Makes Perfect

Your engagement session is your opportunity to practice being in front of the camera without the pressure or nerves of the wedding day. As someone who is BEHIND the camera most of the time, I understand how it can feel when you’re suddenly the center of attention (and two cameras!). You might be unsure of where to look. You might ask “where do I usually put my hands?!” Add another person into the picture and it can feel complicated.

It doesn’t have to! That’s why we have a very specific posing system that we walk couples through. Don’t worry, it’s not as structured as it sounds, but it helps us provide specific instructions to help couples feel the most comfortable and look AMAZING. And it’s FUN. The biggest compliment we’ve received from a couple after their engagement session is “this felt like a date night!!” We want that experience for every couple. On your wedding day, everything will be second nature and you can spend your mental energy soaking up every moment.

Priceless Portraits

Jeremy and I have 3 categories of portraits on our walls at home – wedding, family and engagement. I LOVE having our engagement portraits framed and displayed – they’re relaxed, timeless and showcase the two of us just enjoying one another on an ordinary day (with the Louisville skyline in the background at Falls of the Ohio!). Of course I love our wedding portraits for different reasons, but I’m so grateful we have those natural portraits that capture what it was like to be engaged and excited about our wedding day.

We can’t emphasize the importance of the engagement session enough and we’re excited to talk more about it over the next few weeks and answer some of the most frequent questions we receive from our engaged couples.

Check out other blogs in this series: The Engagement Session: Choosing a Location