Decisions, decisions, decisions. From wondering what to wear for your engagement pictures to deciding whether you should do a first look, wedding planning requires you to consider a million tiny details. The months leading up to your wedding should be spent making memories with your best friend and enjoying the process, not Googling for hours on end. And so, *drum roll please*, Wedding Tip Wednesday was born! Throughout this series, we will be sharing our best tips to make your wedding day everything you’ve dreamed of and keep it as STRESS FREE as possible.

Engagement sessions are one of our favorite things to photograph. There’s so much excitement and emotion in this special time where you get to call each other “fiancé”, and we want to celebrate and remember all that joy and love from each session. One of the most common questions our couples ask is what to wear for engagement pictures. So today we’re sharing some of favorite tips and tricks to look your best on camera!

Hair And Makeup

Let’s be honest – wedding and engagement pictures are one of the largest portrait investments you will make in your life. To get the most out of that investment, what better time to indulge in a little pampering than your engagement session?  Weddings are expensive and it can be tempting to cut this expense out, but IT. IS. SO. WORTH. IT. to let an incredible hair and makeup artist take care of you. This single tip will make a HUGE impact on the way you look and feel during your session. Here are just a few of the MANY reasons to treat yo’self. (Where are our Parks and Rec people?!)

• This is a fantastic way to see how your makeup translates on camera. Many of our brides choose to do a trial run of their wedding day makeup for the engagement session – perfection!
• It eliminates stress the day of your session. It never fails that you just can’t get your hair to lay the way you want or curl just right when you’re actually going someplace special or getting pictures done. When it matters most, leave it to a professional!
• It makes your whole experience more luxurious. In the midst of wedding planning, it’s nice to just let yourself relax and be taken care of! You don’t get to have a professional photoshoot every day. Make the most of it and enjoy the experience!
• Bonus points if you schedule a manicure and clean your ring so it can really shine in your pictures!

Dress It Up

If you ask us, there’s no such thing as being too dressed up for engagement photos! For ladies, our favorites are long skirts with lots of movement or cocktail dresses and heels. Lace and tulle photograph beautifully, but the most important thing is to choose something you feel amazing in. (Pro tip: Heels make your legs look INCREDIBLE, but they aren’t always the best for walking to an epic location. Bring a pair of flats or flip flops to wear from spot to spot – your feet will thank you later!) We also recommend women opt for sleeves. An elegant long or 3/4-length sleeve is a soft, romantic, universally flattering option for ladies – unless you want to show off all your hard work in the gym!

For guys, you can’t go wrong with a suit and tie!  Slacks and a suit jacket, bow ties, dress shoes, blazers and nice jeans, sweaters, and button down shirts are all ideal options. There’s a reason if you look at GQ Magazine over the years, most of the men are dressed similarly… Because dapper never goes out of style. Grey, black, or navy suits are timeless, classic looks like compliment most women’s outfits and flatter most men. And don’t be afraid to accessorize – a nice watch or leather belt can really tie everything together! Check out Brookes and Hyde for some great belts – it’s owned by one of our former grooms!

Honestly, all of these are universal tips that tend to flatter most people.  You know yourselves best.  Wear something you feel comfortable in that feels true to you, even if that means it doesn’t fall perfectly within these suggestions!  Your pictures should be authentically YOU, so you can wear literally anything you want.

Go Neutral

Even if you decide not to get super fancy, we recommend selecting lighter tones and more muted shades. A softer color palette of soft pinks, muted blues, and neutrals like heather gray, creams, leather brown, and white fits beautifully into almost all natural outdoor environments and won’t clash with the backgrounds.  Your outfits will look the most cohesive on camera when the color palettes coordinate, but don’t necessarily “match” – we typically recommend you each wear a different dominant color rather than both of you wearing shirts that are exactly the same hue.

Don’t Stress

In the end, the most important thing is to have fun! Above all else, choose something that makes you feel confident and beautiful! If you don’t feel amazing, don’t try to force it. Many couples love getting dressed up but others don’t, so don’t feel like you have to! (Some even choose to bring two outfits – one more formal and one more casual like something they would wear out on a date. If you do that, wear your favorite outfit last when you’re most comfortable with the camera and when light is prettiest!) 

Most people feel a bit nervous about getting in front of the camera. We promise you (and your fiancé!) will have a blast. Make it even more fun by planning a date night after pictures to take advantage of being all done up! Engagement photos will leave you with permanent memories of the start of your love story, and that’s really what this session is all about.

Now what you know what to wear for your engagement pictures, learn why we recommend everyone write each other letters on their wedding day!