Photo: Olivia Leigh Photographie
More and more couples are doing it, but what are engagement photos usually used for? Are they worth the extra cash? Do you have to be Prince William and Kate Middleton to get ones worth the time and money? Our wedding etiquette experts are here to answer your photography questions in our daily post.
I see them all over the blogs but I'm confused—what's the point of engagement photos?
Nowadays, having professional photos taken of you and your groom before the wedding has become de rigueur, and you've probably seen a ton of them on your favorite wedding blogs or your Facebook feed. Most wedding photographers even include engagement sessions in their packages. But why take them? (Besides the fact that it's nice to have photos of you together besides your iPhone couple selfies.) You can submit the photos to your local paper with your engagement announcement; select your favorite shot to use as your save-the-date; creatively incorporate them in your wedding-day decor (turn the photos into a coffee-table book that guests can sign instead of a plain guest book), or give framed prints as gifts to your families. The engagement-photo session is also a great opportunity to test-drive your wedding photographer and get more comfortable in front of a camera. After all, you'll be spending eight hours or more with your photographer on your wedding day, so you'll want to develop a good rapport and feel at ease in front of the lens so that you get the best photos.