The Significance of an Engagement Session
I often refer to an engagement session as a pre-wedding shoot. In most cases, this is an opportunity to get comfortable in front of the camera together, spend a bit of time with your photographer and get an idea of what's going to work for you at your venue.
Often pre-wedding shoots happen sometime after your engagement but during the planning of your wedding. They're also super handy for grabbing a few lovely photos for your wedding website, invites, stationery etc.
An engagement shoot may allow you to try a photographer out before you take the plunge. I offer a £400 engagement session, if you decide to go ahead and book a full-day package after an engagement session the cost is refunded against your balance :)
Why Have A Pre-Wedding Session?
All of my full-day wedding bookings have a pre-wedding session included as standard.
I love scheduling my engagement sessions/pre-wedding shoots at chosen wedding venues, Han & Noah are getting married in the summer of 2025 at Cain Manor, owned by Harper Weddings and we popped in for an hour this summer, 2024. This gives me a fantastic opportunity to get to know the venue through the eyes of the bride and groom, and see what they love about it so that I can ensure that those details are captured. It's also another chance to see the venue for the bride and groom!
Han & Noah are, like so many of my lovely brides and grooms, so in love and happy that so little posing is required, they're beautiful just in the moment together. However, a pre-wedding engagement session is a fantastic chance to practice a few poses should you decide as a couple that you want to have some posed photos. I'll help you practice kisses, dips, lifts, different cuddled-up photos and find poses that work for you both (or not in some cases, but that's also part of the beauty of this practice round!)
A pre-wedding shoot helps to streamline your wedding day couples shoot, we already know the locations we want to use, the photos you liked and the poses that worked so we can spend less time posing and more time with your friends and family.
Getting to Know Your Photographer: Building Trust and Comfort
On your wedding day, you'll likely spend most of your day with your photographer by your side, getting to know them before the day leads to less anxiety and more trust.
Brides and grooms are bound to feel much more relaxed in front of their photographer if they've already experienced a photoshoot with them and I think most of my lovely couples would say just that.
Cain Manor: Your perfect barn wedding in Surrey?
If you've been dreaming of a beautiful, elegant barn wedding in Hampshire then Cain Manor could be the venue for you. Drive down a lush winding road lined with old forest and you'll find the Hampshire-based Cain Manor, this historic manor house exudes timeless elegance and rustic charm, creating a romantic atmosphere that's hard to match.
The expansive, manicured gardens provide endless opportunities for stunning outdoor shots, there are big doors and windows of the building that are lovely backdrops as well as trees, Italian-style box hedge gardens and a long pergola track. My favourite space is a lawn with long billowing grass that will be so gorgeous in the golden hour.
Inside, the manor's beautiful interiors, with their exposed beams and warm, inviting spaces, add a touch of classic English character to your photos.
Are you planning your dream wedding? I'd love to hear more about your big day!
Cat Brant Photography
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