The top 5 benefits to having professional engagement photos taken:

1. Connect with your photographer

Your photographer is the one person you'll spend even more time with on your wedding day than your spouse. There’s no better way to break the ice than with some stress-free pre-wedding photos. It's super important to be comfortable in front of the camera. It's an often overlooked part of making great photos. If you haven't spent a lot of time in front of the camera, an engagement session is the perfect pre-wedding warm-up. You’ll get to see your wedding photographer in action. How do they work? What kind of poses do they suggest? What kind of energy do they give off? You’ll be ready to spend your wedding day with your own personal paparazzo once you get the feel for this.

2. Connect with your fiancé

Your photog will get to know you and your fiancé too. They’ll learn how you play off each other’s personalities and will weave together a story that is uniquely you. Maybe you’re more excitable and extroverted and your fiancé is more reserved and camera shy. Regardless of your differences, a good photographer will illuminate the connection between you. Chances are, you’ll even feel closer to each other at the end of the session.

3. Hair and makeup trial

If your hair and makeup artist offers a trial run before the wedding, take advantage of being all glammed up! You'll get to test how your look lasts throughout the day. And you'll get to see how well it photographs so you can tell your makeup artist about any tweaks for the wedding.

4. Save-the-dates/decor

Instead of a selfie with bad lighting and awkward angles, you can have a gorgeous professional photo for save-the-dates. Your wedding guests will appreciate it and be even more excited to share the day with you. A nice canvas or guestbook of your engagement photos is a nice addition to your sign-in table, too.

5. Get comfy, creative, and colorful

On your wedding day, you'll get so many photos of you in your wedding attire. Your engagement session is a perfect opportunity to better represent your daily life. Let’s be real — wedding dresses and men’s formal wear are not known for being the most comfy clothing. Engagement photos let you choose your own vibe. Feel free to wear clothes you can run around in for an adventurous shoot. Maybe hiking to that picturesque hilltop or hanging out on your boat together. Or maybe you gravitate towards pictures of you two lounging around together at home — (or you could do both!) Since you don’t have to worry about the restrictions of a wedding day timeline, the world is your playground.

Your photographer will walk you through everything and make sure you have fun along the way. Every time you look at these photos, you’ll smile remembering this special time in your life: the excitement between “will you marry me?” and “I do.” If you get teary-eyed looking at your engagement photos, wait til you see your wedding photos!