Choosing your wedding photographer is probably the most important decision you will make while planning your wedding. This person you higher has the responsibility of documenting your entire wedding day. Your photos will be the only thing that you have left once the cake has been cut and the rice has been thrown. So establishing a relationship with this person, learning how they work, and entrusting them with the most important day of your life is vital to the experience that you ultimately have during this process. So here are my top four reasons why engagement sessions are a must.

ITS ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP

Your photographer will be with you more than your fiance. More than your mom. More than your maid of honor. And let’s get real, your photographer most likely see you (at some point) half naked. SO…having some sort of relationship/friendship, in my opinion, is super important. That’s why, having an engagement session where you get to be vulnerable, laugh a lot, and kiss you’re almost husband.. will skyrocket your professional relationship into a full-blown friendship in a matter of 90 minutes.  So that now whenever this photographer shows up on your wedding day (when you’re just in your Bridal robe and undies) it won’t be near as awkward as if a stranger with a camera walked into your Bridal Suite.

YOU WILL LEARN HOW THEY WORK

Believe it or not, every single photographer works differently. Some photographers will tell you exactly what to do, exactly where to put your hands, and exactly when to kiss. Some photographers will have more of a journalistic approach-and just document the two of you hanging out. Some photographers are super quiet. Some photographers are super loud and excited. Some photographers are all of the above. It is such a good idea for you to learn how your photographer works before your wedding day so that you know exactly what to expect when it’s time for bride and groom portraits.

EARN TRUST

This is big y’all. Like I said before, your photographer is one of the most important people you will hire for your wedding. So establishing trust is so important. When they deliver your engagement session gallery, and you see that this person made the awkward couple that you are.. into looking like Hollywood movie stars on the red carpet, you will immediately begin to trust your photographer. And that’s not only important for you but it’s also important for your photographer. They need to know that they have your full trust. And once they have your full trust, they can relax and that’s when the creative side will come out it’s a win-win for everybody.

YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO POSE WITH YOUR FIANCE

Chances are you and your fiance are not supermodels. You did not grow up in New York City knowing your angles and learning under Tyra Banks.  Let’s be real… the majority of the photos of the two of you are selfies when you’re out on a date, or the super cheesy smiling at the camera that your mom takes of you before you head out the door. And that’s it. But here’s what I’ve learned in my time from photographing couples… Every single couple has one or two poses that are most flattering and makes their love stand out. Having this engagement session you will learn what those poses are so that when your wedding day comes your photographer and yourself can quickly get bride and groom portraits done in the 4 minutes that we might have in the chaos of the day.  You will know to bend that knee, pop that toe, turn to the side, drop that shoulder, look off to the left…etc. You will know it all and then boom 47 bride and groom portraits done in 4 minutes and 47 seconds. Thank goodness you learned all that during your engagement session.

And that’s at my friends. Four reasons why your photographer needs you to shoot your engagement session and all the benefits that it will bring you. I hope this post was a little enlightening for you. If the reason for doing engagements is because your fiance doesn’t want to… I can promise you that after the 90 minutes we spend together he will walk away feeling like he missed his calling of being a model. Trust.