10 Ways To Use Your Engagement Photos
As a photographer, one of the things that hurts my heart the most is seeing photos live and die only on social media. That’s why I’m giving you 10 ways to use your engagement photos! And if you’re still wondering whether or not you should even have an engagement session, you can read my 5 reasons you definitely should have an engagement session over here.
An engagement session brings more value to your investment in wedding photography, your stationery and more. You can use your engagement photos in so many ways that will let you and your loved ones see and cherish them every day for years after.
Keep reading for 10 ways to use your engagement photos:
1. SAVE THE DATES
This is probably the most obvious way to use your engagement photos. Using your recent engagement photos for save the date cards allows you to send out unique and personalized cards to your wedding guests! As a bonus, you can also use your engagement photos to announce your engagement and in engagement party invites!
Bonus Tip: Your wedding photography and stationery go hand in hand so be sure to keep both in mind throughout your wedding planning timeline for your photography.
2. WEDDING WEBSITE
You’ll likely make a wedding website where you can communicate important information about the wedding with your guests using a site like Zola or The Knot. Your engagement photos are great for sharing on your website, for your banner graphics and to tell your guests about how the two of you came to be a couple. Guests will love seeing photos of the two of you as they learn about your wedding!
3. THANK YOU CARDS
For your wedding thank you cards, you’ll probably use your wedding photos. But don’t forget about thank you cards for things like your engagement party or even your bridal shower! If you’re sending thank you cards out before the wedding, your engagement photos are a great way to personalize them.
4. GUEST BOOK
If you’ll have a guest book at the wedding, why not incorporate a few engagement photos? Your guests will love to look through them before signing at the wedding. Then, when you look back on your guest book down the road, the photos will instantly bring you back to the time when you just got engaged. For some, a guest book with engagement photos might double as an engagement album. Or, you may do both! Keep reading.
5. ENGAGEMENT ALBUM
There’s just something magical about flipping through a book of your photos printed on actual paper. Sure, digital is great for the convenience of sharing, but nothing makes you relive a special time like a physical album of photos. A small engagement album is a perfect addition to the shelves of a new home together and makes for a great conversation piece. It will pair with your wedding album beautifully and throughout the years, it will become one of your first family heirlooms that your children and grandchildren will cherish.
6. FOR GIFTS
I hate to break it to you, but your engagement photos aren’t just for the two of you. They’re also for your parents, family members, and even your guests! Your loved ones will love to see and have beautiful, professional photos of the two of you. Just think about it. Parents and grandparents cherish even the worst quality photos of their children and grandchildren that they snapped on their phones. Imagine how much they’d love a beautifully framed, high-quality photo of that time when you got engaged! You can use them for thank you gifts for helping to plan the wedding, mother’s day gifts, birthdays, holidays, and more.
7. HOLIDAY CARDS
Will the winter holidays and New Year’s fall between the time of your engagement session and your wedding? Then use your engagement photos to send out holiday cards to all of your friends and family! This way too, you can share photos of your engagement and celebrate this happy time in your life with even those that didn’t make the cut for your wedding guest list.
8. WEDDING DECOR
Use your photos in your wedding! Not only can you incorporate them into your save the dates, but framed engagement photos add a sweet touch as part of the centerpieces of your reception tables, cocktail hour high tops or hanging up on the walls. They’ll remind all of your guests what they’re celebrating at your wedding and spark great conversations, especially guests that may not know one another or don’t know both of you. You can also use them to personalize tags on your favors or even print your photo on cookies! Seriously, these days, you can print a photo on just about anything. Work with your stationery designer to incorporate your photos into your wedding welcome signs or seating charts as well.
9. SOCIAL MEDIA
Okay, this one might go without saying, but you can share your engagement photos all over social media. Haven’t changed your profile photo in 6 years? Well, now you have every reason to. Anytime you have a wedding update to share on social, you also have great photos to post with it.
10. PRINTED IN YOUR HOME
And probably the best for last… A home covered with photos and memories is beyond special (and again, there’s nothing better than seeing your photos in print). Pick your favorite photos and frame them to hang up on your walls around the house. When you’re just hanging out, reading a book on the living room couch and you catch a glimpse of your engagement photos, you’ll immediately feel nostalgic and be taken back to that exciting time in your life. We’d all be lying to ourselves if we said that marriage is easy and never has lows, so having photos around your house to remind you of why you chose to get married in the first place can be exactly what you need during a tiff with your partner to get you back on the same page. Experiencing your photos as you walk past them just about every day in your home will bring countless smiles to your face and spark moments of conversation and connection throughout the years.
So there you have it, 10 ways to use your engagement photos! What do you think? I hope this gave you some ideas as to all the personal and sentimental ways in which you can actually use your engagement photos!
