What to Bring to Your Engagement Session: A Practical Checklist

For an engagement session, the short list is: your second outfit and shoes you can walk in, a warm layer, water and a small snack, bug spray between May and September, a blanket if you're heading somewhere grassy, and anything meaningful you want in the photos. A clean ring, outfits tried on a week ahead and something to eat beforehand cover the prep.

That's most of it. Engagement sessions are included with our wedding packages, run up to two hours, and usually start about two hours before sunset. Below is the full checklist we'd use, the week-before prep, and the few Ohio-specific things that catch couples out: ticks, sunset closing times, and park rules about dogs and champagne.

The engagement session checklist

Worth bringing

• Outfit two, steamed and on a hanger in the car. The second look usually goes on during the drive between locations. What to wear is its own topic, covered in our engagement photo outfit guide.
• Shoes you can walk in, plus the photo shoes if they're different.
• A layer. Ohio evenings turn cold faster than you expect once the sun drops, especially near the lake.
• Water and a small snack that won't smudge lipstick or leave crumbs.
• Bug spray between May and September.
• A blanket, if we're heading anywhere grassy. It gives you somewhere to sit and keeps grass stains off outfit one.
• A small touch-up bag: lip color or balm, powder or blotting papers, a comb, hair ties and a few bobby pins, a lint roller.
• Hand warmers from November through March.
• Anything meaningful you'd like in a few frames: the dog, a truck, a guitar, the mug from your first apartment, a favorite book.

Worth doing the week before

• A clean ring. It's going to be photographed up close.
• Both outfits tried on together, in the same room, about a week ahead.
• Haircuts at least a week out rather than the day before.
• Everything steamed or ironed, including what's going in the bag.
• A quick look at the location's rules and hours (our engagement photo locations guide has them for spots across Northeast and North Central Ohio).
• A plan for the dog, if the dog is coming.

Worth doing on the day

• Something to eat beforehand. Two hours is longer than it sounds.
• Phones, keys and wallets out of pockets and into a bag or the car. Pocket bulges show up in full-length frames.
• Arriving ten minutes early, so shoes, hair and lipstick get sorted before the light is at its best.
• Fitness bands and hair ties off wrists.

How to prepare for your engagement session

Most of the preparation is the try-on. Two outfits on at the same time, in the same room, a week before the session, catches the problems that are easy to fix with a week and impossible to fix in a parking lot: a hem that rides up when you sit, a shirt that's more see-through than you thought, a second outfit that takes ten minutes to get into.

The ring is the other one. It shows up in close-ups of hands on faces, hands on chests and hands holding hands. A jeweler can clean it for you. For most diamond rings, a soak in warm water with a little mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush does most of the work at home; softer stones like opals, emeralds and pearls are better left to the jeweler.

Timing matters too. If the photos are headed for save-the-dates, a session at least two months before they go in the mail leaves enough time for the gallery and the printing.

Bugs, ticks and poison ivy on an Ohio session

Fields, tall grass and wooded trail edges are some of the prettiest places to shoot and also where ticks live. The CDC recommends an EPA-registered repellent (DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus and a few others), staying toward the center of trails, and a tick check and shower after you get home. ODNR notes that blacklegged ticks are active in Ohio throughout the year, not just in summer.

Bug spray goes on easiest before the photo clothes do, so it has time to dry first. Permethrin is a clothing treatment, not a skin spray, and it's better saved for hiking gear than a silk dress.

For poison ivy, we pick spots and paths that keep couples out of the brush. Long grass photographs well from a distance, and we can get that look without anyone wading into it.

Weather: layers, wind and rain

The layer is the item couples most often wish they'd brought. A sunny 70-degree afternoon in spring or fall can feel very different at the lake an hour later, with the sun low and wind coming off the water.

For the lakeshore, a hair tie and a few bobby pins earn their spot in the bag. Wind at Edgewater, Huron or Marblehead is normal, and a style that looks intentional when it moves holds up better than one that has to stay perfect.

Light overcast is good for photos. The light is soft and even, and nobody squints. Steady rain, lightning or a severe weather forecast is different, and it usually means picking a new date. That conversation is easiest the morning of the session. Rain on the wedding day itself is a separate plan, covered in our rainy wedding day guide.

Bringing the dog, props and champagne

The dog

Yes, bring the dog. The easiest version is a friend or family member who meets you at the location, stays for the first twenty minutes, and then takes the dog home, so the rest of the session is just the two of you. A leash in a color that won't stand out, treats in a pocket and a water bowl in the car help.

The location's pet rules come first. Kingwood Center Gardens and Schoepfle Garden don't allow pets, and Lorain County Metro Parks keep pets out of posted gardens and swimming beaches. If your dog will be at the wedding too, our guide to dogs at weddings covers the wedding-day side.

Props

One or two things that mean something beat a trunk full of props. A blanket, a thermos of coffee, a record, a hat from your first date. Signs and chalkboards date quickly, and several gardens restrict props: Cleveland Botanical Garden doesn't allow props or outfit changes during photo sessions, and Kingwood asks for no balloons, confetti or flower petals.

Champagne

A champagne pop photographs well, but park rules on alcohol vary. Lorain County Metro Parks' rules, for example, don't allow alcohol on park property without a permit. Sparkling cider in a champagne bottle looks the same on camera, and it's the version we'd bring to any public park.

What to leave at home

• A third or fourth outfit. Two looks in two hours is comfortable; three cuts into the light.
• Brand-new shoes that haven't been walked in.
• A group of spectators. One friend to hold the dog or the bag is great. An audience makes most couples self-conscious.
• A long shot list. We pose and direct you the whole session, so the planning part of the photos comes from us. A few saved photos you like are welcome.

What happens during the session

The first fifteen minutes are hellos and warm-up, and the first frames are always the stiffest. After that we pose you and direct you through set poses and simple prompts at the first location, change outfits on the short drive to the second, and finish in the last light before sunset. By the second location most couples have stopped thinking about the camera.

If you're nervous about that part, our guide to looking natural when you're camera-shy explains how the posing and prompts work.

Frequently asked questions about engagement session prep

How long is an engagement session?

Ours run up to two hours and can cover one or two locations, as long as the two spots are five to ten minutes apart. Sessions usually start about two hours before sunset.

Should we bring props to our engagement photos?

Only if they mean something to you. One or two personal things, like a blanket, a record or the dog, add more than a bag of props. Some gardens don't allow props at all, so the location's rules are worth checking.

Can we bring our dog to engagement photos?

Yes. The easiest setup is someone who can take the dog home after the first twenty minutes. Some locations, including Kingwood Center Gardens and Schoepfle Garden, don't allow pets.

Should we eat before an engagement session?

Yes. A real meal or a solid snack beforehand keeps energy up for two hours of walking and posing. Water and a small, clean snack in the car cover the rest.

What if it rains on our engagement session day?

Overcast skies and a light drizzle can still make good photos. Steady rain, lightning or a severe weather forecast usually means moving to another date, and that's easiest to decide the morning of the session.

Questions about your own session, from the location to the dog? Ask us anything.