3 Reasons Engagement Photos Might Be the Best Hour of Your Wedding Prep
More Than a Checkbox
Let’s just say it:It’s easy to treat engagement sessions like a checkbox.You're planning a wedding, juggling work, RSVP lists, venue visits, and figuring out how to tell your cousin she didn’t make the bridal party.Someone says, “You should do engagement photos!” and you're like:“Cool. More stuff to do.”But this isn’t just about getting a cute photo for your save-the-dates.What most couples don’t realize is this:Engagement sessions are secretly one of the most valuable parts of the whole wedding process.Let me tell you about Jake and Emily.
When they showed up to their engagement session, they looked like they’d just finished a first date that went… okay.
Arms stiff. Nervous laughter. Jake literally said, “I don’t know what to do with my hands.”
Emily smiled like someone had told her she had spinach in her teeth—but didn’t say where.
I told them that was totally normal. Because it is.
So we just started walking. No pressure. I cracked a joke. Jake gave Emily a look. She laughed for real.
Then he pulled her a little closer. Then they started teasing each other. And slowly—without even realizing it—they started being themselves again.
No posing. No performance.
Just them. In their real rhythm.
By the end of that hour, they weren’t posing for photos—they were living in them.
And here’s the cool part: Their wedding day? Totally different vibe than most first-time couples.
They were relaxed. Confident. Already in the groove.
The photos felt effortless—not because they were “naturals,” but because they’d already done the work to get comfortable.
It changed everything.
So here’s what I want you to know:
1. You actually get time to just... be together.
In the chaos of planning, there aren’t many moments that are just about the two of you.
The engagement session is.
It’s an hour to unplug from logistics and plug back into each other. To laugh. To be present. To breathe.
It’s one of the few things you’ll do during this season that gives you something back—not a task to complete, but a memory to keep.2. You learn how to feel like yourself in front of the camera.
Nobody wakes up knowing how to “pose.”
And honestly, most of the best photos don’t come from poses anyway.
They come from presence.
The engagement session is your chance to shake off the nerves, get a feel for how it all works, and realize, oh… this is actually kinda fun.
Jake and Emily were stiff for ten minutes—and then they were electric.
And that shift? It shows up in every photo after.
3. Your wedding photos will be better. Period.
When couples skip the engagement session, their wedding is the first time they’re figuring everything out—with way more people watching, way less time, and a lot more pressure.
But when you’ve already done a session, you show up ready. You trust the process. You know how to move. You know how to relax.
Jake and Emily didn’t get “better” at taking photos.
They got better at being themselves in front of the lens.
And that made their wedding photos—bridals, ceremony, reception—feel like them, not some version they thought they were supposed to be.Here’s the real truth:
You don’t book an engagement session for the invitation.
You book it to steal back a moment for yourselves.
You book it because presence takes practice.
And you book it because it quietly makes every other photo that much better.
If you’re on the fence, just know—Jake and Emily would tell you it was one of the best things they did.
And if you’re nervous? That’s okay.
We’ll start with a walk. A joke. A quiet spot.
And you’ll forget the camera is even there.