When Should You Plan Your Engagement Session?

A ring is presented, a question is asked, and celebration mode kicks in. Getting engaged is one of the most exciting moments of a person’s life (and it should be!)
There’s just one problem: it kicks off a season of “wedding planning” that can be quite daunting.
Suddenly, as that overwhelming joy begins to settle down & you face the mountain ahead that is “planning your wedding day” – things can get very overwhelming, very fast.

Part of planning a wedding is hiring a team of amazing vendors to make your day incredible. And that’s where I come in – because I fill the spot of the “amazing photographer”. One of the questions I get asked quite frequently is:

“When should we plan to do our engagement photos?”

The answer to that question is a few more questions, so let me break those down:

• Do you need engagement photos in order to design & send out save-the-dates and/or design your wedding website? If the answer is yes – you’ll need to schedule your engagement session at least 12 months before your wedding day. Save-the-dates (which are especially helpful if you are getting married on a super popular date or over a holiday weekend) are typically sent out 8-12 months in advance. If you are hoping to use some of your engagement photos for your design, you’ll obviously need those ahead of time.
• Do you want to give them as gifts for the holidays? If the answer is yes – you’ll need to schedule your engagement session so that you’ll have your images back with enough time to then order prints.
• Do you want to put an official engagement announcement in the newspaper? If the answer is yes – you’ll need to check with your newspaper regarding their deadlines & regulations for engagement announcements!
• Do you want to print them for display at your wedding? If the answer is yes – you’ll need to schedule your engagement session far enough out so that you’ll have your images back with enough time to then order prints.
• Do you want to create a guestbook album with them? If the answer is yes – you’ll need to schedule your engagement session far enough out so that you’ll have your images back with enough time to design & order a guestbook album. These books can take several weeks to print, so they will require a bit more time than just getting a few prints made.

If you aren’t having save-the-dates made & sent out, there is a bit more flexibility in when you schedule your engagement session. Which brings me to my next question:

What season would you like your engagement photos taken in?

If save-the-dates aren’t in the picture, my first question when planning an engagement session is: what season should we plan for?

Fall is the most popular time for engagement photos! Everyone loves the changing leaves & the crisp air. It truly is a beautiful time of year – but just as a heads up – it doesn’t last long! If you’re hoping for beautiful leaves in your photos, the window of “peak” leaf-season is only a few weeks long. Additionally: photographers are absolutely crazy busy in the fall – it’s a popular time for more than just engagement sessions! So, if you know you want fall engagement photos – my advice is to schedule them early!

Maybe you want something different than fall though – maybe you love skiing, snowboarding, or you simply love winter – then you want SNOW in your engagement photos! Every year I seem to photograph at least one snowy engagement session & even though they’re cold – they’re a ton of fun!

Maybe you love those fresh pops of color as everything comes to life again in the spring or maybe you love heat & summer is your favorite – whatever season you feel like you come alive in – that’s the season you should plan your engagement session!

BIGGEST TIP: Use YOUR wedding photographer!

Now, I know this isn’t always possible (if you are having a destination wedding & you hired a local photographer, it makes sense that they probably won’t be able to do engagement photos for you “back home”). However, most of the time it is possible to have your hired wedding photographer also do an engagement session for you.

I know that having your cousin or sister snap a few photos with their phone would be cheaper, but trust me when I say: having an engagement session with your wedding photographer lays the foundation for incredible wedding day photos! You will not only learn how your photographer operates behind a camera, but you will learn how to take direction, how to pose, and what to expect. And we all know wedding days come with a whole big bundle of nerves – why not take the nerves of “being photographed” out of the equation & get over them at an engagement session?

Engagement sessions are one of my favorite parts about being a wedding photographer. When wedding planning is overwhelming & difficult, stopping & having engagement photos taken can breathe fresh air & fresh perspective into the process. It will remind you of your incredible love for the other person & give you beautiful, tangible memories of a sweet, super-short, time of your life.