One of the first questions that I get from my clients is: what should we wear for the engagement session. After-all, this picture will most likely be displayed right at the entrance of your reception hall, for all your friends and family to see… so you definitely want to make sure you look great!
My first suggestion is to avoid floral patterns like the plague!!! It’s not that I’m personally not a fan of floral patterns, but they do tend to be very distracting in images. Remember that you want the focus to be on you and your fiancé… not on what you are wearing. So you might want to tell your fiancé to put his favorite Hawaiian shirt away for now. Well… I should mention that a Hawaiian shirt might be a great choice if your engagement session has some kind of theme to it… like if you were doing it in a Tropical setting – I can see it working in that situation. Otherwise, loud patterns only tend to call attention to themselves, and away from your happy smiles!
So what should you wear? Wear any solid colors… solid colors tend to create a clean look that will let the viewer focus on you guys. A clean, fresh look can be achieved simply by keeping your attire simple.
Do you have to match? No… not necessarily. I always recommend that you ‘compliment’ each other, but you don’t’ really need to be matching. For example… if he wears a blue top, you would look great in a purple top.
Also take your setting into consideration… as well as the look you’re trying to achieve.
If you’ll be doing a beach setting –the typical attire would be jeans and a white shirt. Even a white skirt with a simple top would look beautiful at the beach (imagine the soft simple skirt flowing with the breeze… !!!). If you’ll be doing a garden setting, pretty much anything goes – do you want to look trendy or casual?
Don’t forget the shoes!!! Keep in mind where you’ll be going when picking out your shoes. You might want to avoid stilettos if you’ll be doing a beach setting. You might consider flip flops, sandals, or better yet – walking barefoot! Trust me, more often than not, the shoes get tossed to the side at the beach… so I would keep the cute stilettos at home for the day. Even at any garden, keep in mind the season and the possibility that there will be walking and there might be some mud. In this case, ask yourself… could you handle a walk in stilettos? Do you mind digging into the ground? If so… then by all means – rock out the cute shoes!!
I have had couples head out to the beach all decked out –I’m talking cute summer dress and even a casual dress pants/jacket combo for the groom-to-be. Let me tell you… that was a cute look for the beach. It was a great juxtaposition… the formal attire with the casual beach- truly great!!! Eventually it looked even better when the groom took off his shoes, rolled up his dress slacks, and carried his jacket over his shoulder – very modern!!! Loved it!!!!
Remember – just have fun… be yourself… and be comfortable with what you wear!!!! (but remember… just say no to loud patterns)
Romantic and sweet engagement session at Laguna Beach
