• Book your photographer!! If the photographer you’re eyeing is highly sought after, reach out asap so you can get a spot on their calendar! I would recommend booking a photographer who you would also like for your wedding. That way, your engagement photos and wedding photos will be edited in the same style, so in case you decide to make an album of all the photos, the photos will be cohesive and will not clash. Another reason this is ideal is you can bond with your photographer and get to know each other. This also lets you become familiar with the photographer’s posing guidance so that on your wedding day you will know exactly what your photographer is directing you to do, and you can work together efficiently.
• Plan out your outfit in advance! If you need inspiration, make a Pinterest board and ask your photographer what they think!
• Plan what props to bring! Are you doing a picnic engagement session? Think of what you need to buy in advance so you can have everything ready by shoot day.
• Beauty prep before your session
• Get your nails done! I would highly recommend getting your nails done especially if you have a ring you want to show off in photos! Getting your nails done or even getting press-on nails somewhere! I would recommend getting them done 1-3 days before your session, and definitely no longer than a week before your session, nails grow out. Nails last for about 2 weeks.
• I would recommend getting your lashes done! I would personally recommend getting lash extensions on your wedding day because you won’t have to worry about them falling off, as you might worry about false lashes falling off throughout the day. So if you’ve never had lash extensions before, this is the perfect way to try it out! I would also recommend getting them done 1-3 days before so your lashes are fresh and full for your session, as a few lashes may fall out every day.
• Hire a HMUA to do your hair and makeup! These are super special photos that you will be using to share with all your friends and family on your wedding website and save the date invitations, you wanna look your absolute best! Plus, hiring a HMUA for your engagement session can give you an idea and head start on what kind of look you want on your wedding day. Alternatively, if you already have a makeup artist in mind for your wedding day, you can schedule your makeup trial with her the day you have your engagement session so you knock out two birds with one stone!

Day of:

• Do your makeup early!!! Give yourself wayyy more time than you usually take to do glam makeup in case you mess up or want to take your time so you don’t end up rushing. Trust me, I’ve had clients rush to their photoshoot and realize they forgot something, whether it’s they forgot to bring their lashes or lipstick.
• Give yourself 30 minutes of extra time to arrive to the photoshoot location. The night before, use Google maps to set the arrival time of your shoot and check if there will be traffic on the way so you can factor it into your drive time.