Hi friends! Today I’m sharing a fun post with tips on engagement photos! Taking your engagement photos is a great way to help build the excitement of your engagement and your upcoming wedding, but often this photoshoot because a major stressor. Here are my tips for taking the best engagement photos.

What to Wear: 

For our engagement photos we did two outfits. The first was our casual everyday style and the second was a little more dressy. I think this worked really well because it didn’t seem overdone or disingenuous. It perfectly captured who we are as individuals and a couple.

Wear something comfortable and flattering

You’re going to use these photos for a lot of your wedding materials and throughout your home for years. If you are wearing something uncomfortable, it will show through in your photos because you will appear distracted. Comfort and flattering silhouettes are key. I wore a loose fitting top so that it would move with me throughout the photos and so that I wouldn’t have to adjust it at all. I similarly wore comfortable, but still stylish, shoes so I could walk around during our shoot without any discomfort.

Wear a silhouette that flatters your body type. This is not the time to experiment. For me, that meant outfits with a little “give.” I wore a loose top and then a more flowy, A-line skirt. Save the tight fitting, revealing stuff for a boudoir shoot for your partner’s eyes only! 😉

Coordinate but don’t match

If you are a couple that regularly matches your clothes, then maybe this advice isn’t for you. We certainly are not. We wanted to coordinate, without matching because that is representative of our own styles and everyday personality. For our casual look, we both appeared relaxed in jeans and casual shirts.

Then, for our dressier looks, we again didn’t match, but worked with neutrals to keep us coordinated. This helped our photos feel more natural rather than staged, which is what we wanted.

Be timeless, not trendy

Your engagement photos will live on, whether you like it or not. Try to stick with more traditional wardrobe choices rather than trendy pieces that might make you cringe in a few years. My Burberry jacket felt somewhat trendy, but I’ve also had it for six years and wear it regularly, so in my wardrobe, it’s a timeless piece.

Sticking to what you know works best. You can take more risks and incorporate more trends for other wedding related events like your shower, bridal brunches, and your bachelorette party.

Where to Be: 

Somewhere Special

Since we planned our Chicago wedding from Virginia and had limited options to take our photos in IL, we knew we had to make the best of the season, or lack thereof. To make up for the post-winter, pre-spring brown surroundings, we chose locations that had meaning to us, like our high school, where we met. We also went to a local park and couldn’t resist incorporating our favorite little man in our photos. That made the location even more special.

Somewhere Pretty

Sometimes, you can’t get pretty and special together. Don’t worry. If you’re obsessed with a specific location, going there to take your photos will make it a special place. While many people take their engagement photos near the lakefront in Chicago or with the skyline behind them, we knew we would get that during our wedding, so it didn’t make sense to do that twice, which might be a similar consideration for you.

Find a unique location that you will be excited about. Wineries, forest preserves, bakeries, and monuments make great backdrops for incredible photos.

Somewhere Natural

In my opinion, engagement photos look best when you and your partner are acting natural, in a natural environment. Don’t overdue it. If you typically spend Saturday mornings drinking coffee and browsing the farmer’s market, get some shots doing that. If you’re avid outdoor adventure types, incorporate that natural environment into your photos. Take advantage of sunrises and sunsets and the seasons as much as you can.

Lastly, use props wisely. Our main “prop” was our dog, but we also brought some champagne and strawberries for a little picnic. I LOVE how these photos turned out and it was fun to indulge a little bit during the photoshoot. If we would have had anymore props, though, it likely would have been too distracting and time consuming.

HAVE FUN! Your engagement photos are meant to showcase your love together as a couple. Regardless of what you wear, where you go, or what you bring, if you’re madly in love and happy in your photos, that’s what will make the best photos. And don’t forget to enjoy the outtakes!