All couples want professional images of their wedding day. After all, these heirlooms are all that you have to look back on to bring you back to your wedding day for the rest of your lives. When it comes to the engagement session, many couples aren’t sure about investing the time to do them, especially when you’re in the middle busyness of wedding planning.

Engagement photos are more than just portraits for your save-the-date cards. They are an opportunity to celebrate your love and capture this special time in your lives — the time leading up to the months before becoming a married couple.

I believe all my couple should invest in an engagement session, and while I may be biased as a photographer, I think these photos are incredibly valuable and many couples end up cherishing their engagement images just as much as they do their wedding photos.

Here, I’ll go over my top 5 reasons why you need an engagement session

1 Get to know your wedding photographer

Stepping in front of the camera can be nerve-wracking, but it becomes easier when you feel comfortable with your photographer. An engagement session can give you and your partner an opportunity to spend time with and grow more comfortable with your wedding photographer before the big day.

If your photographer has already worked with you during your engagement session, they will have a better understanding of your likes and dislikes and how best to capture your wedding day. Your engagement photos can have a huge benefit for your wedding photos and make your photographer’s job a little easier.

2 Use your engagement photos for your wedding

One of the main reasons I find why many couples opt out of the engagement session is because they’re not sure what they will do with the photos. And while your images will look great on your save-the-dates or wedding website, there’s so much more you can do with them.

Engagement photos make for gorgeous wall art as you decorate your new home together and are the perfect personal addition to your wedding décor. I’ve seen couples create an album of their engagement photos to use as a guestbook, select a few favorites from their engagement session to decorate the tables in their reception venue, use them for your photo montage and, of course social media. There are plenty of ways to make your engagement session photos part of your wedding day.

3 Show off your personalities

You and your partner will most likely be dressed to the nines on your wedding day, and while you’ll certainly look stunning, you may not feel 100% like yourselves. Your engagement session is a fabulous chance to still dress to the nines but, it’ll be far more relaxing and fun. It’s a great way to show off your personalities without all the stress of getting back to your reception and guests.

4 Turn your session into a date

At some point, you will definitely want a break from the stress of wedding planning. You can turn your engagement session into a full-day date. Go on an adventurous trek with your partner and your photographer to capture some gorgeous photos (I also think it’s a great opportunity to go for a test run with your hair and makeup artist), and while you’re both all dressed up, why not head out to dinner as well? How often do you go on a date and get some amazing images as well?

5 Feel as confident as a model

So many of my clouples will admit as to never having professional images taken since High School!
I’m usually told that they’re not at all comfortable in front of the camera. Your engagement session is the perfect opportunity to practice your posing and smiling for your wedding day. One of the reason many of my couples hire me is simply this; I give tons of direction, I’ll ask for what I’m looking for in an image. When you feel more confident having your photo taken, you will be more likely to feel comfortable with your photographer on your wedding day, resulting in images you and your new spouse will absolutely love, creating your family’s first heirloom.

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Jeannemarie is a destination wedding and portrait photographer creating romantic, ethereal imagery. Available in Hawaii, Charleston, NYC or across the globe. click the contact button to schedule a free consultation and how I can help you create imagery for your family’s first heirloom.