Couples engagement sessions in Wellington!

If you have recently celebrated your engagement, congratulations! This is an exciting time for you and your partner! Having an engagement shoot is a special way to introduce yourself to the photography side of things and celebrate this time together before you are married. Here are some reasons why I love these photo sessions with couples!

meet your photographer & get some amazing photos with your partner!

It’s a great opportunity to meet with photographers before making a final decision about who you are going to pick. Every photographer will have a different style and approach to how they direct couples. It’s important you find a photographer who makes you feel comfortable and fits with your aesthetic. It’s also the perfect time to get some photos with your pets because how often do we get the chance to have professional photos taken with them (I’ve done photo shoots with both cats and dogs before!)

Learn how easy photos can feel

I get it, I get super weird when a camera is pointing at me. Your photographer should be able to help you relax and overcome that awkward feeling. This is a great practice run for your wedding day. You might even have fun and when you look at the photos you will realise it wasn’t that bad.

WEDDING INVITATIONS

Use your new photos to announce your news online or to design your wedding save the dates or invitations, it will get people really excited!

MEMORIES

Let your engagement shoot be one of the milestones leading up to your wedding day. This is a chance to hang out with the person you love and celebrate new beginnings!

We are engaged! Surprise Proposal at Whitireia Park Wellington

I’ve known for a while that I wanted to marry this man but now it's officially a thing!! What I thought was just a fun and casual couples shoot with Wellington photographer Yvonne Liew turned out to be a wedding proposal. WE ARE ENGAGED!

There’s a little bit of a back story to how this all went down, along with some epic photos of the moment Karl proposed. I had been wanting to book a couple’s shoot because I realised Karl and I hardly any photos together and thought it would be nice to have some updated photos for online and putting up around the house, feels a little vain but it was a new experience.

It turns out Karl had started designing a ring with The Village Goldsmith back in November. Another cool part of this story is a client who has booked us for photos and video at their wedding happens to work at The Village Goldsmith, so she was able to help Karl with the designing process which makes it extra special.

Here’s where it all came into action. We booked a couples session with Yvonne. Karl had been emailing her, I had no idea that it was actually going to be a proposal (it had crossed my mind for sure like ‘what if’, but I quickly told myself no way I’m dreaming). And then it happened out of nowhere! Below are some pics of me losing my shit.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out and taking photos along the hillside. The sunset was insane and the atmosphere felt electric. Thank you so much to Yvonne for capturing these moments for us, the photos are such a true representation of how I felt that evening and I’ll treasure these photos forever.

A note to end on, I’m so grateful to Karl and our relationship. I’ve never felt as supported and loved as I do with him. We have so much respect for one another and the relationship side of things is actually kind of easy, that’s how it feels when you’re on each other’s team. I say I’m not a big romantic but I fricken love this feeling.

Tips for styling your engagement session - Whitireia Park Wellington

Jessica and Nathan spent a week in NZ and to celebrate the end of their trip before heading back to the US we met at Whitireia Park in Porirua for an epic sunset and engagement photos. When this location was first mentioned in our emails leading up to the shoot it made me so excited. Being an engagement session I knew how important this experience was for Jessica and Nathan which made me so grateful to be taking these photos for them while they were in NZ.

Couples are deciding to have an engagement shoot before their wedding day for lots of reasons, one being it’s great practice getting used to having a photographer take your photos and then you have some really great photos that can be used to announce your engagement. I’ve put together some tips for couples who are thinking about booking an engagement session and how you can style it in a way that is made easy.

FIND A SPECIAL LOCATION

Let’s make the most of it by choosing a location that’s going to inspire you (and your photographer) and make you feel good. Turn the session into a memory, somewhere you think you will enjoy the scenery. Light is everything, so talk to your photographer about the best time of day at a particular location.

HAVE OUTFIT OPTIONS

My engagement sessions tend to be 1 hour long, which is plenty of time for an outfit change. While you and your partner don’t want to look too matchy-matchy, pick outfits that will complement each other. Neutral colour pallets tend to work best, or fabrics with some texture but not overly patterned. Flowy dresses look stunning but keep in mind the length if it’s going to be windy at your location. Don’t be afraid to wear white, this looks great during sunset.