“How much is it to take out the engagement session?”
I’ve heard this question a few times from prospective clients and although the answer is a dollar amount, it’s really much more than that! Removing the engagement session from your wedding package may save you a few dollars but what you GAIN is worth far more.
Engagement sessions are a special opportunity for you and your wedding photographer to get to know one another.
Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life and you want to be sure that the photographer you’ve entrusted with that responsibility is one that you are comfortable with. Of course you’ve looked at their work and fell in love, met with them and signed your contract, but then what? Months pass and then your big day arrives… it’s almost as if a stranger is showing up to photograph your big day! Okay that statement might be a bit dramatic, but still there’s some validity to it lol.
Your engagement session gives you an opportunity to interact with your photographer in a similar manner to which you will be interacting with them on your wedding day. Not in a meeting setting, not in a hi and bye setting. But in a comfortable shooting environment. You get to see how your photographer operates and your photographer gets to see how you and your fiancé interact as a couple. As a photographer that’s super helpful for one big reason:
There’s no “adjustment” period on the wedding day. I’m already familiar with your love so I mentally can be prepared and on the lookout to capture moments that are uniquely you.
This is a big deal because with the wedding day already being super busy and fast paced, that’s one less thing I have to think about. I already have a few ideas in mind for photos based on what I know about you as a couple and that frees me up to be fully present instead of being stuck in the “getting to know you” period.
That’s one benefit, but what’s another? You and your fiancé get to have a carefree and fun afternoon with one another! Not to be overlooked in all of this is the quality time that will be spent with one another during your engagement session.
I try to make my couples as comfortable as possible and often by the end, they tell me how much fun they had! You can never have too many good memories with someone you love right? I like to think of the engagement session as kind of therapeutic (go with me here for a second lol). Even if you don’t like taking pictures, think of it this way: you have 2 hours where you don’t have to worry about anything but loving on each other :) And how often do you get a chance to just do that with the busy-ness of planning a wedding?
Well those are my two reasons for why engagement photos are important :) So look forward to your engagement session with excitement and not trepidation!
