As someone whose proud fashion icon is Chessie from the Parent Trap, I will be the first to commiserate with you about how difficult it can be to find an outfit for something as special as an engagement session. After all, you want to look nice, but you also need to be comfortable and feel like yourself. Do you go buy a new outfit? Or do you roll with something tried and true and already loved?
I will never consider myself a fashion guru, but I have seen a lot of engagement sessions – and noticed plenty based on what my couples and clients wear for their photos. My goal is to make this process as simple as possible for you, and hopefully ease any angst over the dreaded decision of what to wear for your engagement photos.
At the core of this, I want to offer a disclaimer that if you find something you love and that you want to wear and it doesn’t align with any of these guidelines – WEAR IT! It’s so much more important to me that you feel comfortable and excited about your outfit than it fitting inside any kind of rulebook. Everyone’s personal style is so different, and the last thing I want to do is make you feel like I’m pigeonholing you into one style or another.
That said, there is definitely some method to outfits that a) photograph “well” and b) age “well”.
An easy way to remove some pressure is to bring more than 1 outfit if you need to! I usually recommend no more than 3 outfits just for the sake of time, but if you are stuck between 2-3 outfits – bring them all! This adds a great amount of variety to your session.
Comfort
One of, if not the most important factor I’ve found, is that if the outfit or setting for your session doesn’t feel like you, it’s harder to get comfortable throughout your session and can ultimately impact your satisfaction afterward. Mostly I’ve found that this applies to a situation like wearing a super formal outfit if you’re not a super formal person, or don’t love that aesthetic. On the other hand, if full glam is absolutely your vibe, this is a great opportunity to embrace that!
If you do decide to buy something new, make sure it’s something within your style profile, and that you move around in it first to make sure it feels comfortable (and maybe even wear it out one or twice to truly test it.) This isn’t the best time ever to try out that new style you’ve been pondering if you aren’t 100% comfortable with it. If there is anything annoying about the clothes that leave you tugging or fidgeting with anything, there is a good chance it will feel exponentially more uncomfortable once you’re being photographed wearing it.
Beyond the overall outfit, proper footwear for the environment is key! If we’re wandering in the wilderness, make sure you have some walking shoes (even if you want to bring heels for a certain area). The same goes for the city if we have multiple locations to visit by foot – bring the heels, but make sure you have something comfortable to walk around in too.
Colors
The overarching rule is to go with a color palette of earth tones. That doesn’t necessarily mean neutrals, though it does include them! So sky/ocean blues, sage/olive greens, terracotta/rusty orange, mustard yellows, etc. are all fair game.
The other important thing to note with color is that whatever you wear plays heavily with the reflections of color on your skin, as well as the colors surrounding you. For example, if we’re going to be in a heavily wooded or grassy area in the summer, wearing greens might be a lot of green. On the other hand, if we’re around a lot of fall foliage, bright reds and oranges specifically might be a lot of red. That doesn’t mean that you can’t wear those colors, but maybe avoid the brightest of them.
Unless you’re really craving a Masterminds-esque, 90’s JC Penny look for your session, I do not recommend matching perfectly or wearing the exact same outfit.
Textures & Patterns
Texture is an incredible tool to add interesting dimensions to your outfit and to your photos. That being said, it’s typically best to avoid any particularly loud or large patterns.
I can’t stress enough that if your personal style includes a lot of particularly loud or large patterns, please WEAR THEM!
How to Choose?
Vision boarding is a major tool of the trade, and I recommend every couple sit down together to create a vision board for both your engagement photos as well as your wedding photos (or really, your wedding day as a whole!) It’s such a helpful tool for planning, but also for your mindset and manifestation. Everything is much easier to picture when you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. I love having the opportunity to see everything you’ve dreamed up together so I can better help bring your vision to life!
