What to Wear for Engagement Photos: Expert Tips to Help You Shine

Engagement photos are a great way to commemorate your love and upcoming nuptials, but there’s a lot to consider. You want to make your shots memorable but not cheesy, authentic to you as a couple, effortlessly casual but slightly posed, and an experience that’s fun and not stressful. Then there’s the location, to pose or not to pose, and of course, your engagement photo outfits, which will likely be commemorated in a framed photo in your (and your family’s) home for years to come. If you’re looking for inspo, we’ve asked a few engagement photographers for their best tips to capture both of your best sides.

What and Where and How:

• Make your shoot interactive. Erin McGinn, a wedding photographer in Rhode Island, suggests capturing an activity you and your partner love to do together to make your photos both fun and meaningful. That can be anything from eating pizza on your porch and reading in bed, to riding bikes on the beach or hanging out with your dog. If you want help staging the scene, McGinn says to ask your photographer for stylists they already work with. “They can pick the best blueberry basket for your pancakes or find you the softest linen sheets for the bed,” she says.
• Make the shoot part of a date night. McGinn suggests making your engagement shoot part of a date night (or day date) so you have time to enjoy yourselves before taking photos. Instead of trying to squeeze a shoot in between work or errands or other to-dos, take the time to enjoy each other’s company. “The more romantic you’ll be feeling with each other already, the more it will shine through in the images,” she says.

• Embrace the light. Photographers are experts at finding the right light, so work with yours to determine the best time of day for whatever location you’ll be shooting in. McGinn says she personally loves shooting at Golden Hour for an outdoor shoot, but other examples include finding the time of day where your home is the most well lit if you’re shooting at home, or maybe sunrise in the mountains where you’ll get sun but not shadows.
• Make your shoot your own, and no one else’s. Everyone’s preferences and experiences will be different, so skip asking all your friends about their shoots and go into your own with preconceived notions, says McGinn. Instead, she suggests building a relationship with your photographer because after all, you hired them for their skillset.

What to Wear for Engagement Photos:

• Don’t fake it. When choosing engagement photo outfits, be true to your style instead of finding something you’d never wear because it’s pretty or trendy, advises McGinn. And dress for the activity you’re doing — don’t wear a bodycon dress hiking or fancy heels for a breakfast in bed shoot. “Sometimes juxtapositions can be super fun (think eating at a pizza parlor in a tuxedo!), but if it doesn’t feel like you, you’re going to be uncomfortable and it will show in the photos,” adds McGinn.
• Choose clothes that give you confidence. “This is without a doubt the most important consideration when it comes to your choice of outfit,” says Anji Martin, a DC-based wedding photographer who owns a wedding and engagement photography services company with her husband. If you wear something you feel confident in, that will show through in the photos. She suggests picking a tried and true outfit that shows off your favorite features and downplays any that you may be insecure about.

• Wear something you’re comfortable in. We’re not suggesting to pull on your favorite pair of sweatpants (unless that’s your shoot theme). “The ideal choice of outfit for an engagement photo shoot is one that you forget you even have on,” says Martin. You don’t want to be constantly fidgeting or adjusting your clothes throughout the shoot. Marin adds that uncomfortable clothes, and especially uncomfortable shoes, can also limit your choice of location. 
• Show up for yourself. Thomas Beaman, a wedding photographer and planner, advises dressing like the best version of yourself. “There is nothing wrong with dressing casual for your session, but make it the nicest version of casual as possible,” he says.
• Nix the bright colors. There’s a time and place for color, but your engagement photos might not be in. “As fun as bright colors are, they often wash out skin tones, can be very distracting, and often clash with the landscape,” says Brianna Parks, an elopement photographer based in California. Instead, she recommends neutral colors as they never go out of style, always match the landscape, and are very flattering in pictures.

• Pick colors that complement what your partner is wearing. Martin says engagement photos will be more visually pleasing if the colors of your and your partner’s outfits go well together. By pairing well together, that doesn’t mean going for matching outfits, which Martin advises against. Adds Parks, “The matching outfits won’t look good in a few years, and the pictures can end up looking corny.”
• Avoid bright white. Beaman advises staying away from bright white shirts if possible. “Your eye is typically drawn to the brightest spot in a photo. If that spot is your entire bright white shirt, it’s what you and others will notice first in the photos,” he says.

• Accessorize. Martin suggests bringing in some accessories to get variety in your pictures. “Putting on a hat, scarf, different piece of jewelry, watch, or other new element can transform your outfit into something entirely distinct without a wardrobe change. And even if you are able to change your outfit, having those accessories will still be a nice way to jazz things up during the session,” she says.
• Bring at least one change of clothing. If you have time to do an outfit change, Martin says to bring another set of clothes for more variety in your engagement photos. Hint: “Putting on a new outfit halfway through can literally allow you to get two photoshoots’ worth of pictures for the price of one,” she adds. A second outfit can also serve as a backup plan. “Bringing two different engagement photo outfits will not only spice it up, but it gives you leeway in case one of the outfits didn’t look as good as expected!” says Parks.

Did these tips help you? Show us your engagement photo outfits on Instagram @Lulusweddings using #lulusweddings–and head to our Bridal Shop for everything wedding-related!