Engagement portraits are often an overlooked (and critical) part of the wedding celebration. Most couples choose to forego an engagement session to put the money towards other wedding expenses. (Which I understand.) What they do not realize is that an engagement portraits session is more than photos celebrating a love story. An engagement session is actually an opportunity for a couple to get to know their wedding photographer better. The couple can practice poses, get rid of any camera-shy awkwardness and experience the photographer’s work “style” before the big day. Plus, at the end of the engagement session, the couple has photos to use in wedding day decorations, programs and festivities.

Marcus and Margaret were a couple that understood that the value of engagement portraits extends beyond the photo. We met on a cool April day last year (April Fool’s day to be exact), and decided to use the Pearl District and Tanner Springs Park as the backdrop to their story. This adorable, fun-loving couple was game for just about anything, which meant a lot of laughter during our engagement portraits session.

During our session we got better acquainted. We worked through any camera-shyness. We laughed. And we realized that someone was a bit of a photo diva–and I’ll give you a clue…it wasn’t Margaret! 😉

Small details, like M&M letter props and an umbrella from their wedding venue, really personalized the session for the couple. It also allowed them to tie their engagement portraits into their wedding theme.

The engagement portraits that came out of Marcus and Margaret’s session are not only adorable, but they really set the stage for great wedding photos (a post on that at another time). By the end of the session, we walked away with a more familiar comfort level and the couple also had great photos for their save-the-date-cards.