If your photographer offers engagement sessions, be sure to schedule one. It is a great opportunity to work with them prior to your wedding day, and it really allows them to learn more about you, your style, personality, and what style of photography you like. I spent the latter part of this week doing a bit of inspirational research on engagement sessions. As a matter of fact, there is a whole website dedicated to the art of the unusual and fun engagement session: Are We Married Yet?

I love when couples put thought into the details of their engagement pictures: wardrobe changes, cool accessories, amazing locations, and great personal energy all contribute to spectacular photographs. I say: do something different! Go to a unique location, have your photographer capture you doing something other than posing on a park bench. Love wine? Go to a vineyard. Like football? Wear your team jerseys and play touch football in a local park. Obsessed with vintage old Hollywood? Get all dolled up to resemble Greta Garbo, Bette Davis… or better yet, Betty Paige. Reenact The Honeymooners, Ricky and Lucy, or old Good Housekeeping ads. If you have a favorite artist or painting, why not reenact them? Favorite movie? Remake one of the scenes (I’m thinking When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Dirty Dancing!!, A Streetcar Named Desire, Bonnie & Clyde, An Officer and a Gentleman, Ghost, feel free to continue…). Spend the day at a movie theater, go to a carnival, oyster festival, flee market, amusement park, or concert. Ride a bike, get on a motorcycle, rent a vintage car, skate board, go horseback riding, rent a trolley. Have a fun, interesting, cute, unique story of how you met? Talk to your photographer about it and see if they have any ideas on how to pay homage to it.

The point is: do something out of the ordinary! It isn’t often that the two of you will be together with an entire afternoon dedicated to capturing who you are on film. But don’t just take my word for it – I asked a few of my favorite photographers for their advice on engagement sessions and here is what they’ve said:

“I always ask, if you have a free weekend to do whatever you want to do, you know you’re going to have a great time doing it, and distance and cost do not matter, what would you do?” Richard Esposito of RE Photo Design has worked with some really creative and fun couples. He just did a super fun engagement session at Disney Land, click here to check it out! Some other fun engagement sessions from Richard: Yale Baseball Field and A fun day in Newport. You can see all of Richard’s engagement sessions here!

Jerome Braga of Studio1923 has done some pretty amazing engagement photoshoots, too! “I always ask is to split the session in two parts. One more about fashion, scenery, architecture, etc and the other part about fun. The fun part is REALLY about them.” I think this is the perfect recipe for great engagement photo shoots! Check out some unique and fun ones that Jerome has done, such as Theatre Date, Toboggan or Not Toboggan, and It Ain’t Utah!. You can view a “best of” montage by clicking here!

Val McCormick of Val McCormick Photography recently had an awesome engagement shoot featured on Are We Married Yet? She says, “Engagement sessions are a great opportunity to have fun, romantic and playful photographs of the two of you, it is also a great time to either try out or get to know your wedding photographer. I have found that engagement sessions really give me the opportunity to get to the bride and groom a little better and help “break the ice” prior to one of the most important days of their lives.” I couldn’t agree more! Check out Val’s blog for more engagement session goodness!

Feel free to browse some of our favorite photographers websites who have all done amazing, awesome, fun engagement sessions (too many to highlight!): RJT Pictures, raw photo design, Carla Ten Eyck, Orchard Cove Photography, and Studiofoto, to name a few!