What to wear to an engagement session
When I’m working with couples for an engagement session, at some point in our planning process I often hear the same question: what should we wear? Most of us aren’t used to doing photoshoots, so it’s completely understandable to wonder how to dress for an engagement session!
To answer this question, I’ve compiled my top 10 tips to help couples wardrobe plan for their engagement session. That said, hear me when I say that ultimately, there is no one right way to dress for your session. It is up to you and your partner to decide what feels most uniquely and beautifully you. I offer these tips as guideposts, and I trust you to incorporate them into your planning to whatever extent you see fit!
Top 10 wardrobe planning tips for your engagement session:
1. Imagine you’re going to an event
If you’re not sure where to start in picking out outfits for your engagement session, my biggest tip is to stop thinking that you’re choosing an outfit for a photoshoot, and instead imagine that you and your partner are getting ready for an event.
Imagine you’re dressing to go hiking, to get Sunday brunch with your buddies, to stroll through an apple orchard, or to have a fancy dinner out with your partner. For each of these events, you two would probably dress to a similar level of fanciness, and you wouldn’t match but you would coordinate and make sense together while each wearing your own style.
While you might not know how to dress for a photoshoot, you definitely know how to get dressed to go to brunch or to go out for a fancy dinner, so conceptualizing it this way turns engagement session wardrobe planning into something you know how to do!
2. Avoid too much matching
To avoid a matchy-matchy look, don’t wear the same color/pattern as your partner, and also avoid clothing that hits your bodies at the same place. For example, if you and your partner are both wearing jeans and a solid color t-shirt and the shirt meets the jeans in the same spot on both your bodies, then when you stand side by side this can make a distracting horizontal line in the portrait.
Instead, think about creating different clothing lengths/lines: so if one of you is wearing a solid color t-shirt and jeans, the other one of you could wear jeans and a patterned button-up under a jacket, high waisted jeans and a crop top, or swap the jeans for a fun flowy skirt.
3. Include favorite layers, patterns, & textures
I love to encourage incorporating layers, patterns, and texture to bring life and personality into your portraits.
Layers and accessories can look like wearing a favorite leather or jean jacket, fun shoes, a headband, jewelry, belts, hats, makeup, etc! Try to choose different interesting elements between you and your partner (so don’t both wear flannel shirts and jeans) but choose items that reflect each of your styles.
Patterns are awesome in photos! A lot of us have been told not to wear patterns in pictures, but I totally disagree – if you are someone who loves to wear patterns in regular life, definitely include patterns in your engagement outfit. If both of you like to wear patterns, just make sure that they aren’t the same scale as each other so it’s not overwhelming (for example, one partner could wear a small-scale pattern on a shirt under a sweater, and the other could wear a large-scale pattern on a dress).
Textures bring life to photos and help them to feel like a real outfit instead of a photoshoot uniform. Between the two of you, try to incorporate multiple textures: think of denim, soft t-shirt cotton, flowing lightweight fabrics, heavyweight linen, silky shirts, tweed jackets, crinkled gauze, etc.
4. Colors to avoid
I usually recommend avoiding neon colors – they can photograph a little harshly. Beyond that, there aren’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’ colors for pictures, but I do encourage thinking about what colors will show up in the setting of your pictures, and try to avoid choosing colors that will blend in too much. In a pine forest, try to avoid dressing solely in browns and greens; in the snow, try to avoid dressing in all-white.
5. My favorite colors for photos
Instead of primary colors, my favorite colors for pictures are either muted or rich earthy tones (think terra cotta instead of fire engine red, a muted olive green instead of kelly green, or rich mustard instead of canary yellow). I’m also a big fan of neutrals in pictures (whites, creams, charcoals, blacks).
6. Avoid outfits with words or logos
While there are always exceptions, I recommend avoiding articles of clothing that might turn out distracting in your engagement portraits. Clothing with words or logos can draw the gaze away from the most important part of the portrait: you and your person!
7. Decide where you want to be on the casual-fancy spectrum
There’s no wrong decision here, but it’s helpful to consider whether you want portraits that feel fancy, casual, or somewhere in-between. What tone do you want your engagement portraits to capture? Do you want your portraits to feel easygoing, casual, and everyday? Do you want them to feel more dressed-up and elegant? Or do you want to wear multiple outfits and capture a little bit of both? If you and your partner decide to wear more than one outfit, I recommend making a distinct style change to add variety to your portraits.
8. Consider the season
Your portraits will feel natural and cohesive if you choose outfits in line with the season your engagement session takes place in. This tip applies more for folks who opt for outdoor portraits, but even if we’re inside, it feels authentic to have your outfits align with the seasonal feeling of the setting you’re in. This doesn’t mean you have to wear a parka if it’s winter in Minnesota, but maybe skip the tank top in January and opt for a sweater instead.
9. Consider the setting
As you’re thinking about seasons, it can also be helpful to think about the setting where your engagement portraits will be taken in. If you are planning an indoor photoshoot – for example at your home, at a brewery, or at a favorite restaurant – it makes sense to choose a wardrobe that aligns with what you’d actually wear in that place. A formal dress and high heels may feel a bit out of place in front of your fireplace, but it’d make sense at a winery, or downtown at the Guthrie! If you opt for outdoor portraits, anything goes. Casual or fancy outfits can work well with a nature filled landscape as your backdrop.
10. Wear what you feel great in
There can be pressure when planning an engagement session to feel like you “should” wear a certain type of outfit, but I encourage you to send those “shoulds” out the window! Wear what you and your partner feel comfortable, confident, and yourselves in. If you feel at home in your outfit, then that will come through beautifully in portraits that look natural and happy!