7 Reasons to Book a Pre Wedding Session

What are they?

A pre wedding or engagement session is a wonderful way to celebrate a pivotal moment in your lives together: hooray! You're engaged!

I know having your photos taken might feel a bit self indulgent, but pre wedding sessions are actually super lovely and really good fun, so here are 7 Reasons to Book a Pre Wedding Session!

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How do they work?

I love to get out and explore, so I do almost all of my pre wedding and engagement sessions on location for an hour or so, around three to nine months before your wedding day. Often times my couples will book a location that means something to them, which makes them extra special. It's super cute when you get to shoot at the place where you said 'YES!'

I include pre wedding sessions with most of my full day wedding bookings, not only to get to know you better, but to have a bit of fun and to create some beautiful images for you to adorn your walls with.

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Do I have to have one?

Absolutely not! Even if after reading this you've decided it's not your thing, you don't have to go for one, it's totally your call!

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7 Reasons to book an Engagement Session

1. We get to know one another!

Unless we are friends, or friends of friends, the likelihood is that we probably don't know one another in person just yet, and we are nothing more than internet strangers.. And you know what they tell you about meeting people on the internet! Now I am sure you've done your fair share of low key stalking my socials, and maybe you have even sent me an enquiry, so we might've met via video chat! But we still haven't taken things offline... so let's do that!

Pre wedding sessions are a great chance to get to know one another better - IRL! On your wedding day, we're all going to be spending a lot of time together, so what better way to calm your nerves ahead of your wedding than to get to know your photographer, have fun, create some photos, all the while laughing at me being your professional third wheel for an hour or so!

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2. To disprove those words: 'We're awkward in front of the camera'

I think pretty much every couple I meet has said those same few words to me. I completely understand. I'll be the first to put my hand up and say I don't like to be photographed, and I also think I'm pretty awkward in front of the camera (I'd rather be behind it!), so I know the feeling. But you don't have to be models to be great in front of my lens! In fact, you can be the total opposite, that's the whole point! Be yourselves, be goofy, romantic, or throw your best Vogue angles. These sessions are about getting to know you both, whilst celebrating something exciting and creating some lovely memories ahead of your wedding day. The most important thing you can do is just be yourselves, and I'll do the rest!

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3. It's an excuse to dress up

With us all being locked up at home for a year due to Covid, I think the extent of dressing up is reserved solely for our trip to the local supermarket. So after that's lifted, what better excuse than to dress up and take some awesome photographs with your favourite person?! The idea of dressing up, picking out clothes, locations, and getting all excited for a shoot is the best, and I speak from experience (Jack and I have had three shoots together in our nine years of dating!) I am always on hand to help give you advice for the best locations and outfits too, in fact I have an entire pinterest dedicated just to outfits!

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4. You'll finally have lovely photos together

We have all experienced that time when someone asked you for a photo of you and your other half, but their most recent photo is from ten years ago in 2009 on a fishing trip, or at that nightclub 3 years with smudged makeup and that risky outfit when you first met (awkward!) That's probably not going to cut it when your family wants a new photo for their mantlepiece. Nowadays, everyone seems to get a bit jittery when a camera is mentioned, and although we are all guilty of taking lots of photos, it seems we are rarely in them, aren't we? I try to make engagement sessions as fun and carefree as possible! What's more, you can use them for your Save The Dates, or to give to your family (and maybe finally they'll stop asking for photos!)

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5. It makes your wedding day less stressful

It makes me so sad to hear that people are worried about the photographs on their wedding day. You've got much more important things to be thinking about - like getting married! But the reality is, a wedding day is naturally super stressful, and I want to limit as much stress as possible! An engagement session not only helps to calm your nerves, because you'll realise how fun photographs can be, but you'll also be a bit more used to being photographed on the day when it comes to the couple photos! An engagement session isn't on such a time crunch as your wedding too, which means we can be more creative and have more fun, and on the big day you'll be total pros!

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6. It's not as scary as it sounds!

I practice what I preach. I wouldn't recommend couple sessions to my clients if I had never experienced one myself, which is why Jack and I have had three shoots! It's been as much about having lovely photos as it has about putting myself in my clients' shoes, which is why I know what it's like to be on the other side of a camera. Two of the shoots we had were in London (usually my worst nightmare!) and one was on a quiet beach... but the most important thing was the way the photographers made us feel. Each of them worked with us, made us laugh, and all of my worries melted away. Now we weren't models by the end of it, but we definitely indulged in feeling like we were just for a few hours!

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7. Being engaged is a milestone in it's own!

As soon as you say 'YES!', all focuses turn to planning a wedding. A truly once in a lifetime experience. But being engaged is its very own milestone, and a time that all couples should relish in. Some of you may have waited years for this moment, or for others, it might've been very spur of the moment! Amongst the stress of planning a wedding, taking some time out to document this important time in your lives is so very special, and something I feel really privileged to be able to document.

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If you are interested in finding out more about them, get in contact, and let's get planning!

Much love as always,

Grace xo