How to Choose Engagement Session Outfits
Your engagement session should be an authentic reflection of you and your partner, including your outfits! As an Austin wedding photographer, I love documenting engagements and my clients’ incredible style. If your engagement session is coming up and you’ve been hopelessly staring at your closet, stick around! Today, I’m sharing my top tips for choosing your engagement session outfits, with inspo from my shoot with Maggie and Kevin.
How to Choose Engagement Session Outfits
Stay True to Your Style
Above all, you need to feel comfortable in your engagement session outfit, so don’t feel like you need to match what someone else wore. Stick to whatever aligns most with your style! I always advise my couples to think about what makes them feel like their absolute best self but a little more elevated.
Play With Color and Patterns
Don’t be afraid to introduce color and pattern into your outfits, as this will add dimension to your images! Gone are the days of plain white button-downs and denim (unless that’s your style uniform, in which case, see tip #1!). I love bright and bold colors, as seen in Maggie’s orange-red dress that paired perfectly with Kevin’s more subdued shirt. I also love layered jewelry and accessories if that’s your thing.
Match Your Outfit to Your Partner’s
You and your partner will be in nearly every photo together, so choose outfits with a similar vibe. If you’re feeling retro, go all in together with that style!
When considering color and pattern, I firmly believe you can make anything work as long as you aren’t both in all-black or all-white. If you’re into more subdued colors, that’s fine, but try to introduce some complementing tones instead of a monochromatic look. With pattern, I advise that only one of you wears a print while the other wears a solid color to avoid competing looks.
Select Multiple Outfits
If we’re doing a two-hour session, doing multiple outfits is a great way to break up the images and add variety to your gallery. This way, you can choose one dressy and one casual outfit. I loved how Maggie changed from her brightly colored date night dress into a laidback, patterned tie top with light jeans for the at-home portion of her and Kevin’s session. It was such a cute combination with his darker, solid-colored outfit!
Consider the Session Location
Once we decide on a location for your session, we can discuss what looks would fit each spot. For example, I recommend avoiding wearing new shoes or high heels if we’ll be out walking. The last thing you want is to feel uncomfortable while trying to enjoy yourself with your boo!
Schedule a Hair and Makeup Trial
No outfit is complete without good hair, so what better time to go to the professionals? I recommend booking a trial with your wedding hair and makeup artist for the afternoon of your engagement session. Of course, everyone is different here—some prefer to keep it natural and do their hair and makeup themselves—but many of my clients want to experiment with how their professional hair and makeup will look, and this is the perfect time to do that.
I know how difficult choosing your engagement session outfits can be, so I hope these tips are helpful! If you and your partner make your home here in Austin, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I would love to connect with you and document this exciting chapter of your love story, from your engagement to your “I do”s.
