Preparing for your engagement photos?  This can be exciting and overwhelming all at the same time!  These are probably the first professional photos you and your fiancé will have made together and you want them to really reflect who you are as a couple. To help, I have put together a few tips to help make your engagement session FABULOUS!

1. Choose a location that has meaning to you.

The location is the most important choice you will make because it will really set the tone for the entire engagement session.  Do you love Broadway?  Why not grab your favorite Playbills and head to the theater district?  Like to go hiking?  Lace-up your boots and head up to the top of the mountain with your photographer in tow! Spend most of your weekends on the water?  Set sail at sunset with a bottle of wine and a blanket for two.  The options are endless!  Think about what you and your fiancé enjoy doing most and try to incorporate that into your engagement session.   This will make your photos more meaningful.

2. Find a way to be unique.

This is a MUST!  If you are showing up to an engagement session with just you and your fiancé, you are doing yourself a disservice.  Think about the things that make up your relationship.  Did you do the long distance thing?  Bring any hand written letters you might have exchanged or an old map with a red line marking the route you took to visit each other.   Do you share a cupcake together every Friday?  Bring a few along for a mid session snack!  Sports fanatics for opposite teams?  Don your favorite jersey for a couple of playful photos.  Small personal props are what will make your engagement session stand out from all the rest.

3. Get a little girly.

It is not everyday you get to have professional photos made with your honey.  Head to the spa for a mani/pedi the day before your engagement session to make sure your nails will be beautifully polished for those close up ring shots!  In need of some new make-up?  MAC offers free make-overs when you spend $50!  This provides the perfect excuse to buy those hot new shades you have had your eyes on.  Planning a trial run with your hair stylist for your wedding day?  Why not schedule it for the morning of your engagement session for hair that will SHINE?  You can always have your stylist change it up a little so your hair is still a surprise on your big day.    Just make sure to schedule your engagement session with your photographer closer to sunset so you really have time to primp.

4. Dress to impress.

What you wear is almost as important as the location you choose!  I always suggest bringing two looks.  One casual, one dressy.  For the casual look, you want to wear what you feel comfortable in…what you would be caught in on a Saturday together.  Dark jeans and a cute, colorful top always look great.  Just make sure the hues you choose compliment each other. For the more dressy look, you really have the chance to totally STAND OUT!  You know that little sequined dress you are saving for a special occasion?  Pull it out and strap on your favorite pair of heels.  It might feel weird packing such a fancy outfit for a walk in the park, but I promise if you do, you won’t be disappointed.  The only downside?  People might mistake you for the next couple from The Bachelor and beg you for autographs as you walk by. 🙂

5. Give yourself the permission to be fabulous.

That’s right!  The best thing you can bring to your engagement session is your confidence!  I truly believe couples in love can’t help but be beautiful together.  Go into your photo shoot with the mindset that you are going to ROCK IT…and you will!