Even if you are getting married in a month, and still haven’t had your engagement photos taken yet, you should! Engagement sessions are much more than just a chance to use photographs on your save the dates. The biggest benefit is getting some time in front of our cameras. It’s at engagement sessions that our clients get comfortable with us. When people think about it, it’s definitely not natural to stand posed in a field of trees, while twirling your hair, or nuzzling in to your future spouse’s face. Well, one thing that we really focus on for all of our sessions is to capture the real emotion our clients share with each other, which is why we really like to spend some time with our clients before their wedding day. We tell our clients that for the first 20 minutes of your engagement session, you will most likely feel a little awkward. But most of that time, that awkward feeling leads you to laugh at the exact peculiar situation you are in… And, of course that is definitely is what happened when we were with Rachel & David. The most adorable laughter, seriously!

But the benefit of an engagement session, even a late one, goes further than just becoming comfortable… We use engagement sessions to also teach our clients a few core poses, so that we can use our time with our clients to our best ability on their wedding day. This comes in handy if our clients have had a change in their timeline, or if we need to work quick while the rain holds off… all things that just make sure we provide our clients with the best experience!

We spent some time with Rachel & David just last weekend, for a short, casual engagement session at Sunday Park, in Brandermill. They had come in town, just about a month before their wedding day… Yes! I did say a month! These two wanted to spend a little time with us, and we were so glad we were able to!  They are just the coolest! Laura has known Rachel since middle school, and their families have been close friends for a long time. Rachel even graduated with us from Midlothian High School, class of 2006! She met David in college at Virginia Tech and these two could not be more perfect together. David first told us that he was unsure of what to expect from our engagement session, a somewhat common feeling from grooms. We can be honest, for most grooms, portraits don’t have the the biggest  importance on the day they are marrying the girl of their dreams. But David, I think it’s obvious from the short time we had together, that you are a natural, and crushed it! Now, you will need to give most of the credit to your beautiful future bride Rachel, who’s smile and laughter is literally infectious! There just can’t be a more smily, giggly, and beautiful combination out there! Rachel & David, thanks for sharing an evening with us, and we can’t wait for your big day in just a few weeks! YAYYYY!