How to Choose Outfits for Your Engagement Session
How do I choose outfits for my engagement session? What should my partner wear for our engagement photos? How do I match outfits for an engagement session? If you’re asking yourself how to choose outfits for your engagement session, you’ve come to the right blog post!
Your engagement session is such a special event in your wedding journey, and it’s a great time to celebrate your love while capturing the excitement and anticipation of this wonderful time in your lives! Plus, it’ll give you a great opportunity to connect with us as your photography team and see our process.
If you haven’t read our blog post, “How to Prepare for your Engagement Session” make sure to check that post out for a bunch of other helpful planning tips, but for this post we’re focusing on something that will play a big role in how your images turn out: your outfits.
Here are some tips for choosing the perfect outfits for your engagement session.
How to Choose Engagement Session Outfits
We encourage every couple to dress to their personal style, but sometimes it can be helpful to have some guidance on how your outfit choices might translate in your images.
In our experience, there are two primary outfit themes you can choose from for your session: Natural & Romantic, or Colorful & Fun. Let’s take a minute to examine each option with some tips and tricks for how you can make the most of each one.
How to Choose Natural & Romantic Engagement Session Outfits
The natural and romantic outfit style is a popular choice for engagement sessions, and for good reason! This is a bright, joyful and romantic time in your lives, filled with anticipation at the start of your marriage to come.
For many couples, reflecting these emotions in your outfit choices just feels right. If that’s you, remember these tips and tricks for making the most of your natural and romantic outfits.
Embrace Neutral Colors
Lots of people incorrectly assume that if both partners wear neutral colors it will make them feel or look washed out, but in our experience that couldn’t be further from the truth. Neutrals are easy to complement and match well with a variety of backgrounds. Think creams, light pinks, light blues, blushes, tans, whites, and grays!
Long, Flowy Skirts & Dresses
If you’re interested in wearing a skirt or dress, consider choosing ones that are long and flowy. These can help to provide a sense of motion for some poses and prompts, and in some cases give you something to do with your hands when you’re not engaging with your partner. Bonus if your dress or skirt has pockets!
Khakis over Jeans
We love a good pair of jeans as much as the next photographer, but for the natural and romantic style a pair of khakis will generally support the color palette and work better than jeans. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but most of the time we would recommend khakis over jeans.
Avoid Distracting/Obscuring Articles of Clothing
In most cases, the natural and romantic outfit choice will accentuate the connection between you and your partner while reducing distracting elements that could otherwise impact the photo. Things like graphic tees, tennis shoes, bold logos, sunglasses, and even baseball hats can distract focus away from the two of you and the love we’re all here to celebrate.
How to Choose Colorful & Fun Engagement Session Outfits
Just like some couples will be naturally drawn to the natural and romantic color palette, some couples will be pulled towards a more colorful and fun theme. In many areas of our lives, color gives us an opportunity to make a statement about who we are or the way we see the world, and for many couples, a colorful, fun outfit choice can help demonstrate their unique dynamic and romance.
If you’re drawn towards the more fun and colorful outfit selections, we hear you! Let’s lean into that desire to self-express while keeping in mind the tips/tricks below.
Only One Bold Color
We love a bold statement color, but if both of you wear a bold color, chances are the look will clash or be distracting. We recommend one partner wear a bold color while the other one stick to neutrals so that the bold color can be a complement rather than a distraction.
Large Patterns over Small Patterns
Very small patterns can cause camera and editing anomalies (check out Moiré for an example of this), so stick to larger patterns to ensure those distractions don’t negatively affect your images. Generally speaking, patterns larger than a quarter are a safe bet.
Complementary Backgrounds
Remember that if you’re making a more colorful outfit choice, we will likely want to complement that choice with a background that is more solid and/or neutral in color, providing a natural complement to your outfit choice. The last thing we want is for your background to clash with your outfit!
Avoid Colors that Impact Skin Tones
Bright reds, neons, oranges, lime greens – these color choices are also likely to cast or reflect color onto your skin, which can in turn really affect the way you or your partner look in images. If you’re considering wearing one of the colors mentioned above, let’s discuss it in advance of your session to make sure it makes sense and will yield the kind of images you want from your session.
Tips & Tricks for Choosing Engagement Session Outfits
Now that we’ve discussed the two primary outfit themes to consider, let’s address a few other items to keep in mind when choosing outfits for your engagement session.
Remember to Bring Two Outfits
We love to offer the opportunity for an outfit change halfway through the session so you and your partner can get a variety of photos to use on your save the dates, wedding websites and more! We recommend you bring…
Outfit 1: The Casual Option. Like what you two would wear to a nice date night out.
Outfit 2: The Dressy Option. Like what you two would wear while attending a wedding.
Consider the Weather & Time of Year
Of course we want you both to look your best during the session, but part of looking your best is FEELING your best! Remember to look for lighter clothing and/or cooler options if your session will take place in warmer temperatures, and don’t be afraid to bundle up if your session is taking place during the colder months of the year.
Coordinate Rather than Match
When choosing outfits for you and your partner, it’s important to coordinate your looks without being too matchy-matchy. Avoid wearing the exact same color or pattern, but do try to choose outfits that complement each other.
Wear Black (Sometimes)
Black can be elegant, chic and classic, so if it feels right for you and your partner and you want to lean into a more formal, timeless look, go for it!
Purchasing a New Outfit
Though it’s not required, purchasing or renting a new outfit can help you or your partner look and feel amazing for your session. We recommend checking out places like Lulus, Nordstrom, J. Crew, Baltic Born, Banana Republic, Express, Revolve, H&M, Abercrombie, Zara, Target, or Rent the Runway.
By following these tips, you’ll be able to choose outfits that help you and your partner look your best, feel your best and express your love story in a way that feels true to you. Remember, your engagement session is a celebration of your love, so have fun with it and enjoy the process!
With all the love,
L+L
If you enjoyed this blog about how to choose your engagement session outfits, make sure to check out our blog post about how to prepare for your engagement session! Interested in booking your own wedding or an intimate engagement session with your partner? Click here to get in touch!
Lacey + Lee Photography is a wife-husband photography team based in Austin, Texas who specialize in creating bright, joyful and timeless images for modern and madly-in-love couples. Within the Austin Area they serve South Congress, East 6th, South Lamar, The Seaholm District, Mueller, Dripping Springs, Kyle, Hutto, Georgetown, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, and Bastrop. They also serve San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Waco, Dallas, Houston, and any State or National Park you get to by plane, train or automobile. They are available for destination weddings, proposals, elopements and micro weddings.
