Your Guide to Choosing the Best Clothes for your Engagement Pictures by Beth MK Photo
Welcome and congratulations on your engagement! You and your fiance are hopefully having a fantastic time collaborating with your wedding planner to iron all of the hundreds of details for your wedding day.
As a North Carolina native and wedding photographer for over nine years, I absolutely ADORE helping with design and introducing creative elements that make my clients look and feel their best during their engagement sessions. Choosing the right clothes for engagement pictures should be fun! I hope this styling advice helps you plan the perfect engagement picture outfits.
Please Note: This guide is for tips and what I have seen work for the hundreds of couples and families I have photographed. Feel free to disregard anything that doesn’t align with your desires or personal vision!
Your Outfits Matter More Than You May Think
Your engagement photos will probably be hanging on your walls, used as your profile pictures, featured on your wedding website, and on your family's fridge as save-the-dates.
The engagement photos set the tone and expectations for your wedding. They are typically a “sneak peek” of what your guests can expect. Your guests will reference the pictures to figure out:
- what your wedding colors are
- what the overall vibe of the wedding will be
- the formality of your event
This aesthetic is determined mostly by the style of your photographer, your emotions in the photos, and (as the title suggests) the outfits you wear in your engagement photos!
The Core Rules When Styling Clothes for Engagement Pictures
1. Choose a Location & Color Palette First
Before you begin shopping for clothes for engagement pictures, pin down your location. If you are one of my couples, you know that you have unlimited access to my calendar for styling and design assistance! We will chat ahead of time to curate a vision and styling board. From there, I will suggest a few locations, just for you.
2. Prepare Two Outfits (for each of you)
Make sure you have two outfits ready to go. I recommend one casual and one formal outfit. This will give your gallery more versatility and provide two distinct looks for your save the dates and wedding website. For those throwing a black tie event, I recommend you prepare one semi-formal and one black tie outfit.
3. Complement Colors - Don’t Match
Avoid wearing matching outfits. Instead choose complementary tones within the same color family. You can refer to your wedding color palette or soft neutrals to make it very simple. Or, if you really want to be bold, screw this advice entirely and just go full monochrome.
Prioritize Comfort AND Movement
WEAR WHAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE MOVING IN!
Most couples want to have a relaxed and fun session. If that is you, it means you need to be okay with not obsessing over the way your shirt looks when you are walking, or the way your pants look when you are sitting, or a slight solar glare on your glasses.
Don't let a poor outfit choice take you out of the moment and get in your way of enjoying your session.
Touchy Feely
During your session, you and your partner will be doing a lot of touching, holding hands and moving together. I love to play with movement in photos and regularly ask my couples if they are comfortable with being picked up.
If you want to participate in those types of images and...
you expect that you will be picking up your partner: avoid garments that restrict your arm movement.
If you expect that you will be picked up by your partner: avoid garments that ride up easily.
Go with the FLOW
aka choose a flowy fabric
Flowy fabrics (not baggy) are prettyyy MUCH ALWAYS THE WAY TO GO!! They will add so much dimension to your photos. Fabrics like chiffon, organza, crepe or rayon are great. If you are opting for more structured pieces, have your clothes tailored specifically to fit your body.
"what truly matters is what's on the inside": The Scoop on Undies
For me personally, I know that I feel most confident being photographed when I am wearing shapewear. It helps me to be much more in the moment, relaxed and not fixated on my clothing. If shapewear isn’t your vibe, thats cool too! But do please make sure you aren’t wearing undergarments that will have you sweating bullets or that you will have to adjust every two seconds.
On that note: Keep the weather in mind. Because as much as I wish I could, photographers cannot control the weather.
If you are getting pictures done in summer it will likely be hot… so choose light breathable fabrics and leave the jackets at home. If you are getting pictures done in the winter, it will likely be cold… so wear layers, bring jackets, gloves, mittens, or hats!
Decided on the perfect engagement session outfit?
I am ready to capture your love story!
Where to Shop for Engagement Picture Outfits
I've linked my tried and true stores for sourcing quality, chic clothes for engagement pictures:
This post is not sponsored. I do not receive any affiliate money through these links.
Ready to Book your Engagement Session? I would love to help you design your dream session & capture this special season of life for the two of you!
Engagement | PORTRAITS | Weddings
Hiii! I am Beth Montalvo-Kemp, Your Engagement Photographer.
I am ready to document your life's big, beautiful, and happiest moments with pictures as sweet as the moments themselves.
The happiest time of my life started with the cutie in this photo with me! Even though I am a photographer myself, Dallin & I have so much fun that we often forget to take photos together. We were elated when we got our engagement photos & wedding photos back and I believe everyone deserves that same feeling.
