Why You Should Book an Engagement Session Before Your Wedding
Why An Engagement Session Might be the Best Thing You Do Before Your Wedding
I’m going to let you in on a little secret about engagement sessions…
Almost EVERY couple who enquires says some version of: ‘We hate having our photo taken‘, ‘we don’t photograph well‘, ‘we have no idea what to do in front of the camera‘.
And honestly? It makes me smile every single time. Because most people aren’t used to being in front of a camera, those are all really normal things to feel. You aren’t instinctively suppose to know what to do with your hands whilst someone points a camera at you in a field.
Feeling nervous about photos is completely normal. Especially when these images feel important. Which is exactly why I LOVE engagement sessions.
Not because I expect you to suddenly transform into full-time models. But because it gives us space to slow down, get comfortable, and for me to show you that being photographed really doesn’t have to feel awkward or performative. EVERY couple I have done an engagement session with leaves saying it was ‘actually really fun‘, or ‘not nearly as weird as we thought‘. Honestly, that is kind of the dream.
You do not need to know how to pose for an Engagement Session
Truly. I promise.
You don’t need a Pinterest Board full of ideas. You don’t need matching outfits. And you most definitely don’t need to spend two hour stiffly smiling at a camera, having no idea what your face is doing.
My approach is always relaxed and people-focused (you can come back to read more about my approach here). I’ll guide you where needed, but mostly I want you to enjoy spending some time together. We will walk, chat, laugh and eventually you will stop thinking about the camera all together.
And that is when the magic happens.
One of my couples said it far better than I ever could:
“Katie made us feel so comfortable on our engagement session, it was just easy and fun to spend time together”
Your wedding day will feel SO much easier afterwards
This is the part people don’t realise until it is too late.
An engagement session isn’t just about having some nice photos before the wedding. It will change how your wedding photography actually feels on your wedding day.
Because by the time your wedding arrives; you already know how I work. You know what it feels like to be photographed by me. We would have talked through angles that you prefer. And most importantly a photoshoot isn’t an unknown.
So instead of meeting me in person for the first time on the day, whilst you are running on adrenaline, you are seeing someone you already know walk through the door. That familiarity can make a really nice difference. One couple said from their session that “as soon as Katie arrived on the wedding day, it didn’t then feel like a stranger turning up“
It means you relax quicker, you trust the process more and your photos will naturally feel more like you.
If you feel nervous in front of the camera
If the thought of wedding photos already makes your stomach do a little nervous flip, I genuinely cannot recommend and engagement session enough.
Especially for:
- Introverted couples
- people who feel awkward in photos
- couples who are convinced they are ‘not photogenic’
- camera-shy partners
- people who have never had professional photos taken before
Honestly? You’re exactly who these sessions are for.
You don’t need to become confident overnight. The whole point is that ew ease into it together.
” Katie immediately put us at ease and let us just be ourselves”
and that is always the goal. Not perfection. Not performing. Just comfort and connection.
It’s also just a really lovely way to spend time together
This is the part you might not expect. Somewhere along the way, engagement sessions stop feeling like ‘having your photos taken’ and start feeling like a wholesome date night. Some choose to bring their kids or dogs. Some choose their favourite beach or forest walk. Some turn it into an actual full blown date night.
One couple messaged me saying “it was such a wholesome evening“. And YES. Exactly that! That is how I want it to feel for you. Wholesome, joyful, honest. A little snapshot of this chapter of your lives, before you make it ‘official’.
You do not need to be ‘good’ at photos
I cannot stress this enough. Your only job here is to show up as yourselves.
That is it!
I will guide you through anything you might need to bring or think about beforehand. And if one of you feels awkward for the first five minutes? That’s very normal. Your partner turning up convinced that they are going to hate it and secretly ends up loving it? Also extremely normal.
Thinking about booking an engagement session?
If you’ve been debating whether to book one, and you’ve made it this far, then that’s probably a good sign. Not because you need practice. Not because you need to be ‘perfect’. But because it will give you space to slow down, connect, build a relationship with you photographer and enjoy the experience of being photographed before the whirlwind of a wedding day. And by the time that day does come around, stepping in front of a camera won’t feel scary anymore… I promise.
And if you’d like to plan something relaxed, meaningful and very you…I would LOVE to help (and yes dogs and kids are always welcome).
Take a look at some full engagement galleries here:
Hengistbury Head Engagement Session
KEW Gardens Engagement Session
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