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They are not important, unless you want to get a good feel for the photographer. My photographer did them as part of the package and it made everything with her super comfortable. I feel like I can be open and honest with her and that there's good vibe and communication there.
We found them pretty helpful - it gave us a better understanding of our photographers and how they work, we were able to practice getting our picture taken and realized how much we would be tired of smiling for photos! It also allowed us to test out some sites that we later used for our wedding pictures.
I think it would have felt awkward to have the photographer show up on the wedding day, not having spent much time beyond signing the contract with them.
I don't think they're necessary, but for us it was a good idea. We're both kind of shy in front of the camera, so it's important to us that we get to know the photographer and get comfortable around them before the big day.
2 months ago I would have said not important at all.
But, having just gotten our pictures back I have to say I am REALLY happy we did it. Yes, it helped us feel comfortable with our photog, but it also helped us learn poses that work and don't work for us (I tend to do a weird head tilt thing that looks awful in pictures....the photog pointed this out and it really helped). And, while you'll have lots of pics of you in your wedding clothes after the wedding, its nice having some GOOD pictures of us just looking like ourselves.
I am SO pleased we did it. I would totally go for it!
I like that we learned littl ways to stand and hold ourselves in front of the camera but other than that if they weren't free I may say that they weren't worth it. But on the other hand I love having some nice pictures of us to hang up around the house.
I wasn't interested in them at first but FI thought it would be nice to have some nice pics of us. It seemed like all the pics of us were from other peoples' wedding or of us drinking at bars/ parties. I am now excited for them since we are going to incorporate them into the decor at our reception. I think it will be also useful to have the time to work with the photog and get used to her before the big day.
We didn't get them. We decided we'd rather have a photography package that was $150 cheaper!
It didn't make much of a difference to us & now we have our wedding photos to showcase :)
They aren't that important in the scheme of things, but just fun to have! We're not using our wedding photographer, since my BM is a photo. student and freaking AMAZING! We're getting them for free.
I only got them done because our photographer includes them in her package. But I'm so glad I did. I've only gotten a few "sneak peak" pictures so far, but they are amazing! Also, its great to get to know your photographer a little bit before your big day and understand how they work.
I tend to be anxiety prone, so knowing her and what to expect on the day of gives me one less thing to worry about. All in all it depends how much it costs for the session? I would say if its maybe a quarter if the price of your whole package or less, it's probably worth it. But if it costs almost as much as your wedding day package, not worth it.
I am with enoh102...We incorpporated the pics we receievd into the reception decor. We had pictures at our sign in table including our special "well wishes" book. The entire book had our favorite pics of our engagement session! We had pics at our candy buffet & cake table too. It was worth every single penny!
I'd put them in the category of nice to have, but not necessary. I thought my fiance would be against it, but he did agree that we had so few pictures of ourselves together that it would be a good idea. He ended up having a ton of fun doing it and I think we're both really glad we took the time.
I plan to use them for the websites and the save the dates - before this, all the pictures we had were lousy, blurry candids. Plus the ones my Mom takes, which she doesn't know how to get off the memory card. (Oh, Mom! <3) It also really cemented how happy I am with the photographer we chose, both how comfortable we were with her and her husband/second shooter during the session, and how happy we are with the pictures.
I thought they were more FUN then important. In fact, we didn't even use our photographer - I found someone on the 'bee boards who was looking for experience, so we went with him for free. And honestly, my FI is insanely busy right now, so they only time that worked was after his birthday weekend...so we were a little hung over and tired ;) But we have a few nice pictures, and they are fun to look at. But definitely not important! Actually, I have even been trying to figure out whether I want to print anyone out at all, since we'll be filling the walls up with wedding pictures in about a year!
We didn't do them and I'm glad we didn't. We have been together for 8 years, and we have 1 zillion pictures of us in everyday settings.
Also, even though they're "included" in packages, most photographers will give you a discount of you don't do them. I would much rather have the extra money than more pictures.
I found them super important. DH didn't at the time but when I explained to him that I wanted really good quality photos of us not in wedding attire then he saw my side of the camera (so to speak). Also it was good for both of us to loosen up in front of the camera a bit.
We decided against doing them mainly because of budget. I really love the way e-pics look but we aren't the type to put a bunch of pictures of us all over our house. So we'd most likely just take them and not look at them again. My DOC insisted we needed them though, so we had my FI's brother do them. They came out decent, so we used one for our STDs and a few for a sign-in guest book.
I am nervous about how not having an e-pic shoot with our photographer will affect our weddings pics... but too late now! :p
We didn't use the same photog for our epics as our wedding pics (they were in 2 different states!). I mostly wanted to have a set of epics in the place where we met and fell in love before we left the area for good.
It meant a LOT to me, and even though he absolutely hated the process, he loved the results as well and is glad that we have them. We have used them a lot since then, to make albums for both our moms. His really liked it b/c she has very few photos of him--esp as a grown man. I love photographs so I have looked at them lots of times and love them. We also used them for various wedding things like the website and our programs. If we hadn't done a photobooth guestbook we also would have used our engagement pics to make our guestbook. So, I am definitely all for them, especially if you can take them in a meaningful place.
Photos are always lovely to help you remember your past, even if you can't appreciate them as much in the moment.
I think I'm going to push for the e-pics, because I really do want to be comfortable with our photographer before the wedding. He cost $3500 for the wedding day photography without the inclusion of an engagement photo session. Engagement photo session will cost an additional $630. SO he's pricey...but from what I've seen, I think his photography is worth it.
Now I've just got to scrimp and save - perhaps I'll try to surprise FI with an E-pic session, lol.
Thanks for all of your input! IT really seems like a special thing to do.
@Lassroyale: I think they are really important. But thats because we found out after our e-pics that we didnt like our photographers work and that we didnt want to work with her. The things she did for us looked nothing like what she had posted on her blog and I was very disappointed. Out of over 300 photos we only had 3 or 4 that I LOVE and only 10 total that I even like. Right after we got our e-pics back we let her go and started to look for another photographer. I am so glad we did this because our wedding photos could have sucked!
My fiance and I are probably going to pass on engagement photos to get a better deal on wedding day photography. We could use the savings for more hours, a second shooter, whatever. E-pics just aren't a big deal to us; if we want couple pictures that badly, we can ask my sister to take them for free. I'm not too worried about getting comfortable with the photog...there are plenty of shutterbugs in my family and we're used to cameras.
Besides which, I can't think of anything I'd actually use the photos for! Maybe hang one on the wall? But that's not enough of a return on the investment.
eh, i was never really "engaged" so i didn't have a proposal or wedding or an engagment ring or pictures. (i'm legally married, but we're having the wedding we never had in 6 weeks) but, if i could do it over again, i would. i think the engagment pictures are something that's very nice to have, but they're not important, if that makes sense. if you want them, you should definetly get them. :)
I personally did not do them and did not miss them. Having one set of professional pictures done in one year was enough for me!
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How important were these to you guys and gals? FI doesn't want them. I however, beg to differ...
...and really, it's mostly because the photographer we have is amazing and I want him to work with us a bit before the wedding day. Lol. He just does some very cool work and I'd love to see some professional photos of us.
That being said, photographer aside, how important are e-pics, really?