Masks, physical distancing and government restrictions are not especially romantic. But guess what’s not only romantic but fits perfectly into today’s environment? Engagement sessions. You can capture these special moments with ease even right now. All you need is your photographer, your fiancé and a few favorite locations as your background.
So, when do you plan an engagement session in Philadelphia? We reached out to Ryan Eda, owner/photographer of Ryan Eda Photography to find out. Here is what Ryan suggests:
One of the best parts of a couple’s wedding journey is the anticipation leading to that fairytale once-in-a-lifetime day! And with that whole period of time, which could be in-between a year and a half to six months with most couples, it’s such a great time to have an engagement session (or pre-wedding shoot in some countries) with their chosen photographer. On that note, there are a lot more advantages to having an engagement session early in your planning as opposed to close to your wedding date…as we will explain.
Benefits
Having your engagement session photographed as soon as you can has some great advantages. We highly recommend this range of at least 6 months to a year before the wedding. We feel like we could go on forever talking to couples on why but here are the top three reasons:
1. You will have adequate time to send out your save-the-dates.
Weddings are these festive celebrations of the joining of two families, and with most of us, we have family and loved ones that have to travel from afar or need to schedule special occasions way in advance in order for them to prepare and make travel arrangements. It’s a great gesture to be given advance notice with a save the date that is sent within a year or more than 6 months in advance. Sending out the save-the-dates in that timeline will absolutely allow for your family and guests to move things around easier compared to something that’s short notice. For some, even two months’ notice isn’t enough and could still get you into trouble. So, six months to a year is definitely a good sweet spot.
2. Having your engagement session scheduled early gives you the choice of picking out a different season than your wedding date.
If you’re in the northeast, we have a four-season climate with each having their own unique look and vibe. We recommend to our Ryan Eda Photography couples to have their engagement shoot done in a different season to reflect that diversity in their images. If they are getting married in the spring, which has the feel of Cherry Blossoms and blooming greens, the summer and fall will give a good variety on their images. Summer is all luscious greens and fall is just a beautiful vibrant color palette of yellow, brown, and orange tones. And because the seasons have different temperatures, your clothing also varies, which gives your styling so much more room to work with in terms of your overall images!
3. The opportunity to have beautiful prints, albums and wall-art is another advantage to having your engagement shoot done early.
Stunning coffee table books or signing books can be enjoyed at your home and be displayed at your wedding’s cocktail reception cocktail, and also like what many of our clients do, is have a breathtaking enlarged print from the session displayed on an easel. It will definitely be a great conversation starter.
Bonus: the engagement shoot is also the best time to build a solid working relationship with your wedding day photographer and get yourselves comfortable in front of the camera.
Your photographer will have a great chance to get to know you guys as well. Establishing that comfort level is especially important because when your wedding day comes, you will be much more comfortable in front of the camera and the images with be much more natural looking. Plus, you will save a lot of time as both photographer and client will already have that practice in before the wedding day. And in wedding days, speed and efficiency is of the essence!
Ryan Eda is the Owner/Photographer of Ryan Eda Photography.
@ryanedaphoto
267-603-1016
