Today I’m sharing all the things I do before the engagement session even happens that helps provide a really great experience for my couples. I have found this to be really helpful for them and helpful for me, just to be able to get to know them more and make sure expectations exist. If you think about it, if your couples have booked you for their wedding – they’ve probably not been in front of a camera or had their photo taken professionally before they’ve booked you. They’re trusting you to make them feel comfortable and make sure they have all of the information they need before their session. My clients really love the things I’m going to talk about to prepare them for their engagement session and I hope yours will too! 

Scheduling Expectations

The first thing I do is help set expectations about when I will be scheduling their engagement session. I schedule mine on weekdays (mostly Monday to Thursday in case of a Friday wedding). Because of weddings, I do not schedule them on the weekends! I mention this to my clients on their consultation call, and I also remind them when getting a date on the calendar after they’ve booked! Remind and repeat yourself! It’s okay! We can all always use reminders! 

Engagement Session Questionnaire

About a month after my clients book, I will send them an engagement session questionnaire. In that questionnaire, I’ll ask them questions like:

What day of the week works best for their session (with a reminder about weekday only!)

What season do you want your engagement session to take place?

Are you camera shy or comfortable with the camera?

Where they want their session to be, and so on.

Once they’ve completed the questionnaire, I’ll review their responses. At that point, I’ll write an email containing three possible dates based on what worked for them and the season they wanted, in addition to three location suggestions (based off of their questionnaire). They can easily respond back and ta da, the session is set! I’ve served them well because I’ve heard them and allowed them to provide information about where they want it and also reduced the back and forth email communication!

Relationship Questionnaire

About a month before their engagement session, I will send them another questionnaire that will allow me to get to know them more! 

I’ll ask them about:

Their favorite date night

How they met

The proposal

What do you love most about each other?

I want to know more about them than just what matters for their wedding day. Getting to know them through these questionnaires helps us create a better connection on their session date. You’d be amazed how much they’ll open up and tell me all about themselves!!

A bonus? I can use most of their answers for their engagement session blog post! They can tell their story way better than I can. So I literally copy and paste some of the story. If you struggle with knowing what to write for blog posts, you will now have paragraphs of content they’re giving you for free, so why not write a blog post!?  This questionnaire definitely has multiple purposes but it is really helpful to get to know my couples more!

Prep Emails

The last two things I do before their engagement session is done through email. They will receive a “What to Wear” email and “How to Prepare for Your Engagement Session” email from me!

The what to wear email is super simple. I’ll share my wardrobe suggestions, talk about wearing jewelry, encourage them to splurge a little and have their hair and make up done, and to make it a date day! You can also direct them to your Pinterest account for examples of outfit inspiration or ideas. Create a Pinterest board with some of your favorite outfit recommendations and send it to your clients! 

The other email that focuses on how to prepare is really just directing them to my blog! If they’re a little nervous or unsure about their session, I encourage them to sit down and check out some of my engagement session blog posts! This helps them become more familiar with my style! 

I know that it can seem like alot of communication with your clients before their engagement session, but it’s really only for the best! Your couples want to feel prepared for their engagement session and they’ve trusted you to help them!

To learn more tips for your wedding photography business, check out my FACEBOOK GROUP HERE!