what to wear for your engagement photos

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

what to wear for your engagement pictures | how to choose your outfit for engagement pictures | what to wear for couples pictures | a memory of us | tips for taking your engagement pictures

Today I am wrapping up the wedding posts for the month with a post all about engagement pictures! I was on the fence about taking engagement pictures when we got engaged as I just was not sure we really needed them. However I am SO glad we have them! It's nice to have some casual pictures of Tyler and I that were not taken on an iPhone and it gave us a chance to get to know our photographer, Tina Norman of In His Image Weddings, better. If you would like to see more of our engagement pictures, head here!

In today's post, I am going to be talking all about what to wear for your pictures. Tyler and I only did two outfits, but I have some friends who did three. Our photographer did not put restrictions on our number of outfit changes, but some may so make sure you look at that when you are planning what to wear! Additionally, you will want to make sure you include the time it will take for you to change when making your schedule for the day of pictures. The last thing you want is to run out of time for actual pictures because you spent too much time changing and touching up your makeup or hair!

Outfit Number One: Getting Fancy


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Engagement pictures are a great excuse to dress up and take pictures. I think it's important for at least one of your outfits to be more on the fancier side. However, how fancy you go should depend on you as a couple. If you typically wear cocktail dresses and your guy sports a suit frequently, that would make sense for your pictures.  Or maybe you aren't a dress fan, and dressed up to you means a pair of nice slacks and a blouse. Whatever your style may be, try to choose one fancier outfit. Tyler and I opted for khakis and a button down for him and a nice shift dress for me. It was fancier, but still felt like us.

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When choosing your outfits, stay in the same color family. Tyler and I both have blue eyes, so whenever we wear blue it makes our eyes pop. It made choosing a color scheme for this outfit pretty easy haha! Pick a color you feel comfortable in, but also something that coordinates with what your fiance is wearing. You should look like your are paired together. Make sure you pick comfortable clothing as you will most likely be walking around, sitting down, standing up, etc. I would also recommend staying away from anything too trendy for your engagement pictures. This is just a personal preference, but I wanted our pictures to have a classic feel and I did not want to date them by wearing anything too trendy.

For You: Shift dress, fit and flare dress, midi skirt and a blouse, dress pants and a blouse, etc.

For Him: Khakis and a button down, a suit, dress pants and a sport coat, etc.

*Add your style to your outfit through accessories. Think jewelry for you and suspenders, a vest, a tie, cuff links, etc. for him!

Outfit Number Two: Keep it casual

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If you dress up in your first look, I think your second outfit should be casual. Like I mentioned above, I love having nicer pictures of Tyler and I that weren't taken on an iPhone. What you wear here will depend on the time of year you take your pictures, as it wouldn't really make sense to be in jeans, a sweater, and boots in the middle of July! (If you can smile through the heat in that more power to ya haha.) Tyler and I took our engagement pictures in September so it was the start of fall, which made it perfect weather for jeans,flannels, and boots!

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For these pictures, we stated with Tyler's outfit and chose the flannel he would wear first. This way, I could choose a top that matched one of the colors in his shirt. Fun fact, I was actually supposed to wear a different top for these pictures but got something on it while I was packing it to leave for pictures so I had to choose something random before we left haha! I personally really like how it looks for one person to be in a patterned top and the other person to choose a top that matches a color in it. I think they look really nicely together. The pattern adds visual interest, and as long as the other person is in something plain it won't make the pictures too busy.

For You: Jeans and a plain top, a casual dress, sun dress, etc.

For Him: Jeans and a flannel, shorts and a polo, jeans a plain shirt, etc.

*Play with color here and accessorize for the season!

Outfit Number Three: Make it personal

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Tyler and I did not take any pictures in a third outfit as we just did not see the need. However, I do know quite a few people who have taken three outfits! You could easily do one more casual outfit or one more fancy outfit. Just switch up the colors and picture location so that the outfit change makes sense. I personally have seen many people do a third outfit in something more personal to them. For example, if you are taking pictures on your college campus where you met, both wear a college t-shirt. Or, if you are huge fan of a sports team and they are a big part of your life and relationship, wear a shirt for your team. One of my best friends is an Oklahoma fan and her husband is a Nebraska fan so they took pictures in their respective shirts and they turned out so cute! A girl I work with and her fiance bought a house right before their engagement pictures and ended up taking some in their new house which was such a fun idea! I think it's important for your engagement pictures to reflect your relationship, and this third outfit is a great way to show who are you are as a couple.


I hope this post helped you choose an outfit for your engagement pictures or just couple pictures. I really love our engagement pictures and keep telling Tyler that I want to book a session with our photographer again just to take some more pictures even though we don't have any special occasion haha!

I hope you all have a great day!
I would love it if you would follow me on GFC or Bloglovin'!

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37 thoughts

  1. Beautiful couple ;)

    xx
    Mónica Sors
    MES VOYAGES À PARIS
    NEW POST: MAXI TRENCH & CROP PANTS

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  2. And the award for the Cutest Couple EVER...goes to you hotties!!! Great tips!!

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  3. We did two looks for our engagement photos as well and it was nice to be coordinating but not so much so that it showed...it was still us! xo, biana -BlovedBoston

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  4. How funny--we're taking our engagement photos next Thursday! Perfect timing for me to see this post! Love all these tips!

    www.rosyoutlookblog.com

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  5. Love doing two looks for your pictures! Getting all fancy is fun but casual is definitely more relaxed. Love all your engagement photos! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  6. These are beautiful pictures! Such a great looking couple you both are! :)

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  7. I am loving this cut out trend right now…this dress is beautiful!

    http://www.louisvuittonwebsite.com

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  8. This is a lovely outfit!! Thank you so much for sharing!

    http://www.2016handbagstores.com

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  9. I need to save this to send to my engaged couples when they ask me what they should wear for their session! Perfectly said!

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  10. Awesome tips and beautiful engagement photos! We did a mix of dressy and casual too, and then we also did a sportsy theme wearing our favorite baseball teams for some fun pics <3
    Green Fashionista

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  11. Your photos are incredible! And I love what you chose to wear! Something a little more dressy and something a little more casual is definitely the way to go! You two make a great couple!

    Xox Dana Ivy // www.iadorewhatilove.com

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  12. Darcy I think it is good to have both a fancy and a casual... it's a wonderful memory and I glad you had them taken xox

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  13. I love how these came out! And great tips!

    xx
    Lauren Elizabeth
    Petite in Pearls

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  14. I LOVE that navy dress on you and your hair looks amazing in these photos!! This is so crazy but our engagement photos were included in our photography package and we NEVER took them!!! Awful I know. :-/ But these photos are beautiful and you two make a lovely couple! :-)

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  15. These are such wonderful tips! Noted for the future! You pictures came out wonderfully as well, I can see the happiness in these images!!
    xx
    An Unblurred Lady

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  16. Beautiful pics! I am so glad we did engagement photos because they are special and I love how our photographer captured both of our personalities!! I was happy that we got to do an outfit change for our pictures because we got casual and fancy in :)!

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  17. Beautiful photos! You can always do an anniversary shoot =) We did two outfits as well.

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  18. Your pictures came out great! Love the dressy and casual look. That navy dress is perfect! Beautifully Candid

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  19. I love the classic style of your outfits and how they are so complementary! Great tips, lady :)

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  20. Your pictures are so cute! I wish my photo hating hubs had done this with me!

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  21. I love the fact that you had multiple outfit changes that were in a wide vary of "formal-ness". I also love that you suggested making one outfit that represents you! We did some photos in our college shirts, and I really love those!

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  22. These a great picks! Love that you picked out classic pieces! They will still look classic 20 years from now!
    xo,
    Jacqueline
    Stylin In St. Louis

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  23. These are great tips! I think one fancy and one casual outfit is perfect for engagement photos. I love some of the poses you guys did!

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  24. These pictures are absolutely stunning! Y'all are such a beautiful couple!
    Emily
    Darling, Dearest

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  25. Your engagement photos are gorgeous! I love the outfit change from fancy to casual and I know some people like to wear their sports team etc...Wish I had though to do some engagement photos! lol

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  26. Nice to see this couple. those are looking stunning and gorgeous look.

    When Nail is Canvas

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  27. Very fashion wear, and i love fashion photos

    Missydress Sweden

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  28. what to wear for your engagement photos
    http://www.fashionishow.com

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  29. These are absolute perfection! I love all of your tips and advice!

    Maggie
    www.PolishedClosets.com

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  30. I love your photos! Engagement photos often look really awkard but yours look stunning! I love your hair, makeup and the foliage in the background! I especially love yall's dressier outfit pictures .. that blue dress is perfect!

    theritzyglitzy.com

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  31. Totally agree re: a dressed-up and a casual look. Your pictures are gorrrrrgeous!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  32. Great outfit ideas. Your engagement photos are so cute!

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  33. Lovely photo you guys look great, nice engagement photo ideas.

    New blog post on turquoise jewelry in paris
    http://artadorned.com/2016/04/turquoise-dreaming-in-the-city-of-love/

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  34. You are a lovely couple and you got some great photos!

    Thanks for sharing your tips :)

    Away From The Blue Blog

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  35. I absolutely love your photos!!! So nice to have them around the house too!

    Where did you get your beautiful dress in your fancier photos from?

    liz @ j for joiner

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  36. These are beautiful photos! This is such an exciting time in your life...so much love and adventure awaits you.

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