Krista and Ben’s Friday night wedding was everything you’d dream of for a summer wedding! Perfect weather, good food, all your favorite people, a beautiful golden hour and your dog by your side!! Their family and friends traveled from southern PA to be with these two as they got married in their new home of […]
Laura & Paul are the type of people that immediately feel like you’ve been friends with forever…they are so laid back, kind and caring and are so much fun to be around! Last summer when these two drove down from Connecticut for their engagement session and I knew their wedding was going to be amazing! […]
It all started in the physical trainer’s office at the Montrose Area High School…Katherine got hurt while playing volleyball with her Blue Ridge team so was in icing her foot when Dylan came in from his team’s spaghetti dinner with some cookies. He offered her one to cheer her up and sent her a message […]
1. You’re able to become comfortable in front of the camera
The number one question that I am asked when a couple starts their session is “Okay, what do you want us to do?” This let’s me know they may be a little nervous of the unexpected. I get it, how often do we take professional photos, right? Probably not often since selfies don’t count, so it’s natural to have a feeling of uncertainty in the beginning. When I begin an engagement session, I let the couple know a few things up front about what to expect in order make them relax, and while it may take a few minutes to get into the swing of things, we always get to the point where their true personalities come alive! On occasion, the groom-to-be is not as thrilled as his future bride is to be spending a portion of his morning or afternoon openly showing his affection. So this time to connect on a more personal level can really save valuable time on the wedding day. Consider your wedding photography as an investment in a lifetime of memories. Your ability to relive those moments from the wedding day is most likely what you expect from your photographer and that’s understandable, so ensuring you are comfortable in front of the camera will add value to your experience in the long run. Trust me!
2. You get to know your photographer
The engagement session is the perfect opportunity to spend some time with your photographer before the wedding day. Let’s face it, on the wedding day there are so many things that happen – hopefully all good of course. Having a relationship with your photographer after having taken engagement photos, will allow you a level of comfort and trust since he or she will be the one wedding professional that is around you for the entire wedding day. In addition to the relationship, it becomes a win-win for both you and the photographer because you will receive images that you can use for your save-the-dates, wedding website, or wedding day display. Your photographer also gets to see how you and your fiancé interact with one another, and can better direct you two into natural, flattering, and authentic poses. While these sessions typically have a time-limit, you aren’t as pressed to make the perfect shots happen in a short amount of time like you are on the wedding day.
3. Your session can serve as a hair and makeup trial
When a bride is selecting the wedding professionals that are going to make her even more beautiful on her wedding day, she is not going to go into this agreement blindly. Most brides have a hair and/or make-up trial scheduled prior to the wedding to ensure they have the perfect look on their wedding day. Combining this trial with the engagement session is the perfect opportunity to see how you are going to look on camera on the wedding day (minus the gown). Not only does it serve as a trial, but typically brides that come to their session with professional make-up application feel great about how it is all coming together and have a better understanding of what adjustments, if any, need to be made for the wedding day. Women that typically wear little to no make-up daily may feel overwhelmed about the finished look from a professional make-up artist, but when they see their images it’s almost always a decision they were happy about.
4. It’s an opportunity to just be together, put the wedding planning aside for bit
Having your engagement session also gives you time to spend quality time together and step aside from all the wedding planning. Sometimes the planning gets so crazy you forget the reason why you are even planning…it’s to celebrate your LOVE! This is an invitation for you to leave the wedding to-do list at home and be fully present with your fiance. You get to dress up and love on each other. I always recommend for couples to book a reservation for their favorite restaurant for after their engagement session, you’re already dressed up, you might as well get to enjoy a date!
5. It captures this part of your life, your story
You can never have too many photos…a photo speaks 1,000 words…all of those little sayings hold a lot of truth! Engagement sessions allow you to get beautiful, professional photos of you with your favorite person in the world…most of the time it’s the first ones you’ve ever had together! You won’t regret having them and your kids will one day love to look back to see their parents in the young love stage of life! 😉
Seneca Ryan Co. is currently booking 2018 (just a few dates open!) and 2019 weddings! We are scheduling engagement sessions for Spring & Summer!
