Are engagement photos worth the extra cost?!

We didn't do them, and I'm totally fine with that. Many couples use them to get some experience working with their photographer. We just didn't really see the point in it.

I never understood the purpose of engagement pictures, especially if they cost more. I wouldn't have used them for anything and we're not really the type to have lots of pictures around our house (we have one nice framed one from our wedding). We did not regret skipping this.

As someone who spent a lot on her engagement photos, I say yes. However, my two caveats are that 1) I have a background in photography so it was super important to me & 2) I was super anxious about using a photographer we didn’t know much about, so I really really wanted that trial run to confirm I trusted the shooting & editing style. If you don’t have any strong reasoning to get them, it’s totally fine to skip.


We made a date night of it & since it was near my birthday we also treated this as my birthday gift, since I wanted it much more than my SO did.

My fiancé and I frequently get professional photos done, so engagement pictures were just another excuse! They are not necessary, at all! But they are super fun. We did ours right after we got engaged and we were still giddy and excited to be newly engaged, so they turned out to be some of our favorite, naturally just happy, pictures.

I don't know what your local photographers offer, but a lot in my area will offer reasonably prices "mini" shoots that are usually less expensive. And a lot of wedding packages will include your engagement shoot. Just a thought, if you are on a budget but wanted them!

I honestly don't think so unless they're included in your package. Ours were included in our package so we did them, and I just don't like them that much and will never hang them up or use them. I'll be hanging up our wedding photos, and I have other photos up that I like of us from events and dates.

I wanted them because my fiancé and I have like zero pictures together so I wanted nice ones. However with COVID we had to cancel them, and now he’s in school so hard to find time. Probably wouldn’t get them done but our wedding photographer includes 30 minute session with booking. Definitely not necessary, unless you want to put pics on your save the dates or or your wedding website if doing those.

Personally, I think they're worth it for a couple reasons: you get to work with your photographer ahead of the wedding, which allows you to feel more comfortable in front of their camera, and also allows you to see how their photos of you turn out. You can also use the engagement session to tell them what poses you liked best (or ones you didn't like), as kind of a trial run for the wedding pictures. Also, you get professional pictures taken of you at this stage of your life! It's never a bad thing to have more photos of you. They can be used on Save The Dates, Thank You notes, etc. Also, it's a fun date night out with your fiance! My fiance and I absolutely loved taking our engagement photos (and since we postponed two years due to COVID, we're planning on taking a second set of them just for fun)! If it's in your budget, I personally think they're worth it.

Hi Josi! We had an engagement shoot bc it was part of our photography package. It was fun and we used the pics for our website and STDs. Also even though FH and I have been together forever we had never had pictures taken before so it was a new experience to "work it" in front of the camera lol. I do believe we'll feel more comfortable with our photographer the day of. HOWEVER if it were an extra cost . . I wouldn't pay for it. I would just get a friend or a tripod and take pics ourselves.

We got them done, and they were part of our photography package! If you can find a photographer for your wedding that offers it with your package, then I'd def go for it because I think they're worth it.

We had so much fun during our session! It was great to get a feel for how our photographer likes to shoot, and to get comfortable in front of the camera. She even made a list of what our favorite poses and prompts were so she could do those at our wedding as well. She got over 200 photos of us that we can access through a photo portal, and we had so many great choices for our save the dates!

We weren’t going to do them but then my hubby found a Groupon with a new photographer for $50! We used a photo as our Save the Date and a few on our wedding website.

So, we didn’t pay for our engagement pictures (they were included in our package) and while prior to taking them, I would’ve said that I wouldn’t pay for them if they weren’t included, now after having them done, I think it would be worth it to pay. Our engagement pictures gave us an opportunity to really get to know our photographer and his style, which makes things more comfortable on the wedding day and we now know that we LOVE how he takes pictures. We honestly had so much fun taking them, and used them for our engagement announcements, and will most likely be using them for STD as well. We framed so many of them and LOVE them! I never realized how awkward taking pictures could be, so I’m so glad that we did it one time before the wedding because I feel like it would overwhelm me on the wedding day if it was our first time ever doing pictures like that!!

They were definitely worth it to us! My husband and I had never had professional photos taken before, so our engagement session not only provided a practice round for the big day, but it also gave us the opportunity to become comfortable with our photographer. This also really helped in figuring out which poses suited us best. Before our wedding, we even discussed with our photographer which of our engagement photos we liked best, so that she could get an even better sense of our style. I think that if you're using the same photographer and you're not used to professional photos, then engagement sessions can be very helpful. As a bonus, we also had great photos to use for our save the dates! And our engagement photos also went into our guestbook.

Our wedding photographer included an engagement photo session as part of her wedding package, so we didn't necessarily pay "extra" for them, but I'm really glad we did. They made our save-the-dates that much better! Ultimately, you just have to do what's best for you and your budget. I knew pictures were important for us, so we cut back in other areas. Good luck!

I think they’re really good to have for things like putting the photo on the save the dates, or your wedding website, also just to have as memories. But it’s definitely not necessary.

My FH and I are both introverts who don't enjoy being in front of the camera, but did an engagement shoot to help us get more comfortable with having our pictures taken by a professional! Our wedding photographer took them and it was originally an extra $100, but we changed our package and it was included in that one. We now finally have pictures of us (and our dogs) around our house and we're planning on making an album for people to sign as our guestbook (à la yearbook style lol), so it feels like we're getting a lot of use out of the shoot!

Oh, and we also used pictures from the shoot for our save and change the date cards!

Worth it. We payed an extra $225 for it. We had only one picture of us that was a selfie taken at a bar when we were both tipsy, so we actually wanted some good pictures of us together. Neither of us are picture people either so it got us a bit more comfortable in front of a camera and build a rapport with our photographer to make sure we worked well together and that we liked the product he provided. We used one of the pictures for our STD and put several on the wedding website.

I actually had my bff take them! she has a good camera and she's a good photographer so i figured you know why not aha. i think they're worth it though if you're gonna use them for stuff like your save the dates, invites, etc

We got them done but we didn't have to pay for them. My one bridesmaid is a wedding photographer and did them for free as an engagement gift. We love them and use them on our social media. We printed them out and gave them to our parents and grandparents as well.


Most photographers include the engagement photos with their wedding packages. I think it's a good idea to see if you like the style of the photographer you chose. There is a couple of posted on here talking about how they absolutely hated their engagement photos and decided to go with a different photographer.

Yes I thought they were so worth it! At first I wasn’t going to do them for the very reason of feeling like it’s a waste of money. But we ended finding a super affordable and great photographer to do them and I am so happy I did! Not only was it a great practice for us for when the big day comes, but I’m also so glad to have memories of this engagement time that is so short. We plan on using the picture for lots of things like save the dates, website, reception decor, etc. I even saw someone suggest using them for a holiday card to send to family and friends for your first Christmas together. I also plan on adding these photos to the wedding album so it’s almost a story from the beginning of the wedding journey. Obviously, everyone is different and has different wants and needs for their wedding. It’s up to you whether you feel like you would find it worth it. There is nothing wrong with saving that money and putting towards the honeymoon or something else for the wedding. In my experience, I am happy I did. Hope that helps!

As a lot of others have already said, I think they're worth it to get them, especially if it is with the photographer you are going to be using for your wedding. Ours included an engagement session in the package, and I'm really glad we did them because it gave us a real opportunity to just hang out with our photographer and get used to each other. She got a good sense of our personalities as well, so she could get more photos that embodied that both in the session and at our wedding. My FH and I have never had professional photos taken together either, so it was really nice to get them done and we have them all over our house and gave a photo to our parents and grandparents as a gift because they're always asking for photos of us. And it's actually REALLY fun. We spent the entire time laughing together and it just put us both in a really good mood for the rest of the day.