Woot Woot! You found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with! It’s a fabulous feeling, and you want to plaster your walls with images of the both of you, but not necessarily a collage of selfies. Whether you’re engaged or not, having a photo session with your partner can be tons of fun, and you’re rewarded with re connecting with your person, and having beautiful images to share.
Engagement sessions typically come up when a couple gets engaged to be married! So if this is you, and you’re not sure if you want to do an “engagement” session. Then let’s talk!
-Like I said in my early paragraph, you don’t have to be getting married to do a fun photo session with your partner. So lets start by calling it a ” couples session ” rather than engagement session.-
I digress
If you just got engaged, CONGRATULATIONS! It’s a pretty exciting time when your love asks you to spend the rest of your life with them! Planning a wedding can be super exciting and a lot of work. You’ve chosen your partner, then typically you find a place to get married! You’re third booking is usually your photographer (Thats me!). Majority of my couples are super excited for their couples session, but I do have a hand full of people who ask to by-pass it, that it’s not something they’re interested or “need”. I’m here to tell you, heck yes you need it, and it’s not as boring or formal as you may think.
I always encourage clients to go for the couples session, and I’m going to break it down in 3 simple reasons.
1- It’s a great way for you to get to know your photographer, and your photographer to get to know you.
* Your wedding day may be one of the most looked back on moments in your life.
You spend so much time and energy (and money), you’ll want to make it the best
experience. Having someone who you know, and have worked with before the
day,
can really help elevate any stress or awkwardness. You know how the
photographer works, and the photographer knows how you both are in front of t the camera. It’s a win win.
2- Location options, or trials, and including hobbies or pets!
* Location, location, location. Wedding day can be super busy, and you may not have the time to visit a favourite spot, or location you wanted to include your wedding day. This is the perfect opportunity to use said locations for your couples session! We can adventure pretty much anywhere these days, so let’s do it! Another great option is to include a hobby you enjoy, like golf or drinking beer. You know, the usual stuff.
Heading to a brewery, wine tasting, going to the rodeo, or the driving range can be a un thing to include. Or get your truck and head up the dirt road, climb into a helicopter and go mountainside. These couples sessions can be really personalized, and even include your furry friend, who sometimes isn’t able to be included on wedding day!
3- Date night!
* Turn it into a date night! It’s just a good excuse to spend some time with your partner and have some fun. Couples sessions or the dreaded “engagement sessions” can
be stereotyped as stiff and posing. But honestly, we spend more time goofing around, drinking, and just laughing. Your session is super chill, just you two, and me of course! Let’s plan a fun evening, go out and take some photos. I promise it’ll be fun!
So who’s booking a couples session? I love photographing people in love, it’s likely my favourite thing to do. My biggest piece of advice will planning your wedding is research your photographer, make sure you connect with them. A professional will always be up for meeting prior too booking, and you can get a sense of who they are from that meeting. Do your homework, make sure all your vendors have contracts, and enjoy the planning process! Congratulations to all those who are on their way to marriage, I’m exited to meet some of you and make your day the best it can be!
