reblogged: Top 3 Reasons for an Engagement Photo Session

original: http://www.mywedding.com/articles/top-3-reasons-for-an-engagement-photo-session/

Before I got engaged, I remember having some serious engaged-person-envy. It wasn’t because of the rings, it wasn’t because of the white dresses…it was, very simple, because of the engagement photos.

So, really, I had engagement photo envy.

I didn’t, at the time, have any particular desire to have a wedding – they kind of sounded like a lot of work. What I did want was to be married to my best friend…and to have someone take really cute pictures of us.

Then we actually got engaged, started planning the wedding, and engagement photos began to look a lot like an unnecessary use of time (which we didn’t really have much of) and money (which we were trying to save).

Fortunately, I’m going to spoil the ending of this story before the suspense kills you: we ended up deciding to buckle down, open our calendars (and, yes, our wallets) and have some engagement photos, leaving me with three words for those of you who might be teetering on the same fence we found ourselves perched upon. So. Worth. It.

Here are three reasons you should invest in engagement photos:

1. Get comfortable with your photographer. On your wedding day, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with this person. Possibly more time than you’ll spend with anyone except your future spouse. And while your photographer is probably used to the work dynamic, you might not be used to yourphotographer. An engagement session is a great way to get to know each other and get ready for the big day.

2. Get comfortable with yourself. I don’t know about you or your fiancé, but my husband is camera shy. Seriously camera shy. In fact, aside from our wedding photos I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve managed to catch him smiling in a picture. Now just think about putting that camera shy man in front of a very fancy looking lens for somewhere between six and eight hours. Basically, what you’ll end up with is someone’s idea of the worst day ever, which is something we’d all really like to avoid. Taking engagement photos gives you and your fiancé – camera shy or camera ready – the opportunity to get used to having a camera follow you around and is a great way to help both of you work on polishing those smiles.

3. Get a record of being engaged. Being engaged is such a busy, fun and important time in your relationship. You’re making decisions together and planning your future lives – and I think that engagement photos, photos of a period in which you’re relaxed and in love and getting to completely enjoy one another, are one of the best ways to hold on to those memories. Yes, it’s sentimental. But it’s also so much fun.