I always get asked by brides for advice on engagement dress ideas. I thought it would be a great idea to create a blog post that would answer this question–because after all, you’re paying a good amount of money for these photos, and you want them to look amazing! I wanted to keep it simple and focus on 5 types of outfits that always look great. First, I always tell my brides to consider their body shape. You don’t want something that is ill fitting (no matter how great the dress looks on the mannequin, your best friend, or on your 16 year old cousin). The truth is, you should never buy something that makes you feel like your being held hostage. Here are some points to consider before buying your dress:
Number one for engagement dress ideas: You want your dress fit well from the beginning. The goal in not to have the photographer photoshop out rolls or bulges–that can be super costly to you! I have heard from plenty of photographers about their clients showing up with a dress that was clearly 2 sizes too small only to be told after their sessions to photoshop them to look thinner. There can’t be an expectation that your photographer will do this for free ( I don’t know any photographers that would) .
Number two for engagement dress ideas:: Colors always look beautiful. Often we are drawn to black (trust me so am I). Being that I’m a film photographer I always show brides pictures of different engagement dresses that I’ve captured on film and they almost always understand why I prefer dresses that aren’t black (as shown below if they choose black I tell them to at least choose something with texture or at least a different option for a skirt). You can always do neutrals because they look so pretty as well. If you do decide on all black try at least having a great shoe or perhaps a shoe with a pop of color.
Number three for engagement dress ideas:: Different outfits are a plus (you get pixie dust when you do this). When a bride arrives at the shoot with 3 dress options I am always happy (like I seriously cry unicorn tears). Before the engagement shoot we can quickly go over the different looks and see what will work best.
Number 4 for engagement dress ideas:: Bringing a scarf, hat, blanket or bouquet of flowers can add an extra oomph to your pictures. I love it when clients do this! We get to play around and try different poses with their items.
And last, but not least, number 4: A dress with a great/interesting back always wins. Think about how the dress will look from the back as your photographer is taking pictures of you walking away with your sweetie. If not a great back, perhaps interesting sleeves, etc.
So with all that said, here are my 5 favorite types of engagement dresses:
A dress with a little sparkle and texture:
A dress with a pop of color and a great shoe (deadly combo)
For those that can’t stay away from black (you can pair a black top with a great skirt vice versa):
Okay so we cheated a little (this isn’t a dress, but a romper). However it’s different and we love how it’s paired with a great shoe
A dress with an interesting back or great sleeves
It’s always fun when clients bring a scarf, hat or florals to their session. Notice how a cute hat makes that outfit that much better. Look at your outfit-pull a color from it and then add a cute scarf, hat, whatever you’d like that matches the color. I love the last picture as well. My client showed up with florals and we had so much fun playing around with them.
If you’d like to book an engagement session with Lucy Munoz fill out my contact form and we’ll start making pretty memories 😉
Some of the dresses listed above are from Galia Lahav, Michael Costello, Free People, Olia Zavozina and Sarah Seven
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