For engagement photos, did you...

I used it for my hair and makeup trial too (but my hair was up).

I actually feel much less wasteful now! I found some pics online last night of a natural smokey eye with pink colored blush and lips and long curling iron curls that I'm taking with me.

Next question.... did you get your ring cleaned for them?? How many outfits did you wear?

I did! Mainly because I didn't want to stress over it. I knew if I did it there was a chance I wouldn't be fully satisfied with it and then my unhappiness would show. I pretty much gave my superwoman (my friend who does my hair, nails & waxing) free range over my hair and makeup haha she knew me and knew what would work

I did. I wanted to look like a more polished version of me. I didn't feel confident enough in my make-up skills to apply enough make-up to have it show up on camera, but not look cakey. I got airbrush and LOVE how it photographed. I look just like myself, very natural. =)

I think you're doing the norm! The morning of my e-shoot, I got a mani, a trim, color and style, and then got my make-up done. I also bought new clothes.

@JK...we had our photos done on a Sunday and I did get my ring cleaned at the jeweler the day before. I hadn't had it cleaned since he proposed and it needed it as well as an inspection anyway. I'm glad I did!

Technically we each had 3 outfits, but let the photog dictate when and how much we changed and one of my shirts actually did double duty in jeans and a dressier version in black pants. My avatar is one of the Epix (a yellow dress) as well as the below (so you can see the double duty of the pink shirt)

I did none of that....my FH's sister in law literally surprised us two days after we got engaged (since she was in town) and took our pictures. So I had no time to get new outfits or any of that but it was so us I def wish I could have bought a few new outfits and had not cut my hair (I chopped my long hair the DAY before we got engaged...oh well lol) goodluck!

I got my make up done at MAC (free, but you need to buy products) and my hair at my salon. I needed a haircut, and she always styles it for me. Win Win!

I got a new dress. But I got my hair colored and done the day before and a manicure two days before. I did my own make up and our outfits came from the closet.

(Please ignore the rainbows in the first one. We were walking to the waterfall)

Just doing my own stuff and wearing what I already have. I was too lazy to go shopping and no time to get the nails and hair done. I considered it. But I just started selling Jamberry so I'm going to use french tips of those for my pictures.

Side note - You work 3 seconds from me AND you're getting your engagement pictures done tomorrow?! We are getting ours done on Sunday! We're going to the Cultural Gardens because we have no idea where to go. Lol. Everywhere we were looking they wanted to charge you a fee!

I am getting my makeup done and getting my hair blown out but thinking of having add some loose curls on the bottom since my hair is straight.

I bought one new outfit, had my sister do my nails, got a blowout, but did my own makeup. It worked perfect for us. I wanted to go out all, but I'm cheap lol

Outfit I am totally confused on, I ordered a bunch of stuff and found nothing. I wanted jeans and boots but the top is the issue,i always wear black but have a gray sweater but I am pale and don't want to get washed out

I had my makeup done, but only because it was a free trial that I'd received from a bridal show. I had to get them done in the evening AFTER being at work, so the MUA just kinda fluffed up my hair. Haha!

I did my own hair and make-up. The photographer was a friend of ours and he said if he saw any small imperfections on my face he would photoshop it, but didn't end up having to do it. He also did a cute little picture of us and our cat Ellie (couldn't resist - had to share!)

I did my own hair and makeup, and we wore jeans and button-down shirts from our closet, and changed into a dress and suit for some photos at the end. There's no right-or-wrong, but I hate that you're stressing so much over this....

You need to be relaxed and not worrying about whether every hair is perfect! If you are stressing about each pose, and how everything looks *while the photos are being taken*, it's going to show on your face, and in the photos! The best thing you can do to look beautiful in the e-pics, in my opinion, is to stay focused on why you are having them done - focus on FH, focus on your happiness, and do not worry about the rest. We ended up taking photos on a cloudy day, and it drizzled on and off all day - my hair was a mess! But I didn't care... I had so much fun

I did my trial with my MUA for our engagement pics and I did my own hair.

I had my make up done and hair.

I wore 4 different outfits (cream dress/blue cardigan and jeans and flannel shirt, black/red/white dress and a black t-shirt and jeans, orange skirt/black cardigan and shorts and his works shirt, jeans/boots and pants and long sleeve blue shirt) and we went to roughly 5 different sites (small lake and dirt road, tall pines, ice cream shop/bait shop, big lake beach-smores, and our house) for photos. Our photos are really diverse and playful...we used a lot of props which I provided and love in the photos.

I really thought it taught me a lot about the wedding day and things I would care about and things I would let go...and also about how being overly prepared felt crazy but the day of it was awesome to have all these cool things to pull out of of my pretend back pocket to use.

Yes. i had my hair and makeup "trials" done for my engagement photos. although, my hair and makeup for my engagement photos is not what i want for my wedding. so i'm having another set of trials again a month before the wedding to nail down the specific style i want.

@Summerbridejen - What's your style? Meaning, are you more country, preppy, or edgy?

If you have darker hair, a purple, red, or pink top will do wonders to brighten your face and eyes, and if you're blond, the same for aqua, pink, or blue. If you really can't bring yourself to wear color, you could add a lighter-wash jean jacket or a quilted vest, but the top really is key... Notice in the photos above, if you're standing in trees, against brick or stone backgrounds, gray and black shirts are going to get 'lost', like camouflage.

OldNavy has great 'basic' sweaters - http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=20408 - that won't break the bank, so if you buy something just for the shoot, you won't feel bad if you don't wear it again If you just can't go with a brighter color, what about something like the plum cable knit or zip-shoulder, or teal v-neck or even the plum 'marled' sweater that has gray and white and black woven through? If you're fair-haired, the mint v-neck would be beautiful too.

Nope. Wanted it to be super casual, but if I had dressed it up more, I might have. What sort of pics/theme are you doing?