No Engagement Session? You’re Missing Out!

“Why do I need an engagement session?”

Ohlordie. There are so many reasons why you should have an engagement session done! Let’s start off with some quick ones:

This is the only time of your life when you’ll be engaged to each other. Com’on. I know you feel it. You’re a little extra lovey-dovey, a little extra giddy, and just a little extra in love with each other now than you normally are!

It’s great practice for your wedding day (whether I’m the one taking them or not). I mean, obviously I’d rather take your engagement portraits myself. (Duhhh. 😛 ) But if for some reason you don’t want me to or perhaps you need to fill that family friend’s dream of shooting your engagement photos – I get it! Go ahead. This is better than not having any portraits taken since it’ll help you get used to being in front of a camera and working through any initial awkwardness & shyness. 🙂

Because you don’t have ANY professional pictures together yet. I see you! I know your type! 😛 I’ve talked to so many couples who have confessed to never having any professional portraits taken together even though they’ve been together for years! Maybe it’s just the photographer in me going into shock, but that’s terrible! Don’t tell me all you have are cell phone pictures printed out as a whopping 4×6 – your love needs to be better documented. 🙂 Don’t wait to start on your wedding day of all days! (Besides, what are you going to put on your Save-the-Dates and engagement announcements??)

Excellent way to use your makeup trial! I mean, if you’re going to get all done up you might as well have pictures taken too! 😛 Plus this way you’ll be able to see how it photographs and make sure you like how it looks. 🙂

Because you don’t want your house turned into a private museum of your wedding day. AKA It’s kinda nice to have other portraits for your home in non-wedding attire. PLUS you can personalize your session with props, include your fur babies, do a lifestyle session including something you both like to do together, you could dress up according to a certain theme, you could get down-n’-dirty (more than you would on your wedding day). etc. etc. I think you get the picture. 🙂

(I know I mentioned it already but…) For your Save-the-Date cards. Gotta get those suckers out in the mail eventually and having some pretty portraits to show off on them might make you procrastinate less. 😉

Engagement portraits make great gifts for family & friends. Weddings and wedding planning can be intense and stressful and often times parents get hit with the brunt of the stress & some (or all) of the bills. And what do parents love & appreciate? They love pictures of their children. Why not take a break from the wedding planning and gift them a pretty portrait of their golden child? (Hopefully you’re the golden child, but if not we can set up a portrait session with your brother instead. It’s fine. 😛 )

(Cheesy but…) It helps you see the best in yourself and boost your confidence. As your photographer, I want to capture your best smiles, your best angles, and some of your best moments with your fiance. Engagement sessions really aid in this since there’s absolutely no pressure, no real time constraints (like “Omg we have to at the reception hall WHEN?!” sort of time constraints haha), and so much freedom to do & go wherever the heck you want. Engagement sessions are for prying that personality out of ya and letting it shine. 🙂

Practice makes perfect. Typically results in better wedding photos. Now hold up. Do I need to photograph you before your wedding? Absolutely not. You’ll still get stunning images either way. HOWEVERRR engagement sessions do help you to see how I work and allows you to become more comfortable with me…. Orrrrr you can save our first picture-taking-moments together for your wedding day when you’re naked in a thong putting your dress on. To each their own. 😛

Because we can become buddy-buddy better. (Say that 5x fast haha.)  Seriously though, I love getting to know people. Even if I’m a little introverted… (all my clients are going like, “Ha….yeahright.” but I am, you guys! Love you all, but dang are ya’ll emotionally draining haha! 😉 ) …I want to get to know you & your fiance so I can take better pictures that scream “you” or where you can say, “Yup, that’s us!” 🙂 Engagement sessions are a great opportunity for us to get used to each other, maybe get some inside jokes goin’, to begin the photographer-bride alliance where the groom gets picked on relentlessly, to help you two figure out how best to embarrass each other in public…. You get the idea. 😛 Engagement sessions are just good no matter how ya look at ’em. 🙂

Have ya heard enough? Ok cool now check out these portraits of my couples goofing off during that engagement session you said you didn’t want. 😉

P.S. There were indeed taken, but strictly romantic shots are not included in this post. 😛 Want to see a full engagement session? Here’s one!

Pretty sure he was making fun of how clumsy she is haha!

He literally saved her from falling in! Look at her smile of gratitude at the end haha! Haha I love his face in the second shot! They met playing soccer sooo here we are. Playing soccer. 🙂 I told her to give him a hug and this was her way of doing that. 😛 *Whisper-whisper*  Sarah has a cute laugh & great hair. 🙂We may incorporate some light motorboating into our engagement sessions. jk ;P I was SO happy when Lindsey & Ron wanted to do this shot! The result was messy but hilarious!I got “real smiles” out of Kalee & Mitch, but apparently I had no such luck with Molly…. (jk I did but this one just cracks me up! 😛) When he makes fun of her. I may have called them out on kissing with wayyy too much tongue and so of course Jason blamed it on Kelly. 😛 Jason just kills me haha! He must’ve looked back at Kelly like this one day and it was just game over. She was his haha! I swear this dog is smiling that her parents are getting married! One of my favorite picture sequences of 2018. That’s high school sweethearts for ya! My ideal client eats bugs. jk 😉

(Pictures taken all over Wisconsin but many were taken in Milwaukee, WI at Cathedral Square, Lake Park, Lakefront Brewery, Holton Street Bridge, North Point Lighthouse, Atwater Park, the Third Ward, and the Milwaukee Brewing Company.)

P.S. There were indeed taken, but strictly romantic shots are not included in this post. 😛 Want to see a full engagement session? Here’s one!