Engagement photos

For couples planning a destination wedding in Mexico, the session often happens on the planning trip, when you fly down to see the venue in Cancún, Riviera Nayarit or Valle de Guadalupe. Doing it then serves two purposes: the save-the-dates show the place your guests are being invited to, and you learn how the light, the heat and the wind behave at that destination before the wedding day. Photographing in a different season from the wedding also gives you a second set of pictures rather than a rehearsal of the same set.

Timing follows the stationery. Save-the-dates for destination weddings go out earlier than for local ones, because guests have to book flights and rooms, so the session is usually six to twelve months before the date. One look suits a 30-minute session, so choose the outfit that matches the tone of the invitation rather than the one you wear every day. If your wedding venue is the location, ask its coordinator in writing whether an outside photographer can work there on a non-event day.

The session is also practice. Couples who have been directed once are easier to photograph on the wedding day, because they already know which side they prefer and how it feels to be asked to walk, stop and look at each other. If there is no wedding being planned, the couple session is the honest choice and costs less; if the wedding has already happened, the honeymoon session is the one to book. The engagement gallery is delivered within 7 days.