The season of engagement is precious and fleeting. In the grand scheme of your life, the time that you will be engaged is so short. Capturing this season of engagement with professional photos will surely be cherished for a lifetime. Not only is it an awesome opportunity to get some incredible photos of the two of you, the engagement session is also a crucial step in developing a relationship with your photographer before your wedding day! It is so important to get in front of your photographer’s camera and to really get a feel for how they coach, direct, and pose you. After the engagement session you and your beau will be total pro models! (For more on the engagement session, click here!)
So the engagement session can happen any time in between the day you get engaged to the day you get married…so when is the best time for you two?!
In New England you get the best of all 4 seasons, each one giving your images a different look. The style of your photos is mostly dependent on background and outfit choices, but seasons do play a role. For example, if you are wanting romantic whimsical images but it is the dead of winter with no snow on the ground and you believe it is too cold to wear a flowy dress, your images might not turn out how you hoped. It is, however, totally possible to get some amazing images in every season with some planning, flexibility, and imagination. Below are some pros and cons to having your engagement season in each season!
Winter: Nov – March
Cons: I think the most obvious con is that it can be very cold. The experience of the engagement session is greatly hindered if you are so uncomfortable and cold the entire time. Although hot hands (and feet insoles) help, sometimes you just can’t get around how cold you feel, which could in turn affect your images. Your outfit choices can feel very limited because of the temperature, but I would highly suggest wearing lots of layers. You can still pull off a flowy dress with fleece lined leggings underneath! Another con is that most trees are leafless and brown and if there is no snow on the ground, it can make your images feel a bit lifeless.
Pros: Fresh snow photos are magical, no doubt about it. There is something about snow that makes me feel like a giddy school aged kid who just got a snow day! The white covered ground reflects beautiful light on your skin and makes you look magical too! Another pro for winter shoots is that most places aren’t crowded and lots of parking is free in the off season!
Spring: April – May
Cons: With all of the snow from winter melting away it can be a bit wet and muddy. This will limit locations that are more woodsy because the ground will be very soft. Speaking of wet, it rains quite a bit in the spring. Be ready to reschedule your date once or twice due to weather, or think about being open to taking photos in the rain!
Pros: Buds, new life, and warmth. Spring is SO short up here in New England, there are only a few weeks where trees are in full bloom bursting with new blossoms! Also, the temperature is much more bearable than it was in the winter time.
Summer: June – Middle of September
Cons: Crowds. New Englanders know how to take advantage of the warmer months and everybody is everywhere in the summertime. Some places aren’t “open to photographers” in the summertime and many places charge to park in this season.
Pros: Summer brings perfect temperatures, beautiful greenery, and lots of sunshine! The ground is usually dry and the sunlight lasts much longer! Summer sunsets are magical.
Fall: Middle of September – October
Cons: Much like summertime, people are out and about and there are lots of leaf peepers traveling to our neck of the country. The weather can be a bit more unpredictable than summertime. It can be cold and windy or sunny and warm!
Pros: After labor day, most places are open and much of the parking that you had to pay for in the summertime is now free. Although it can be very difficult to time when there will be peak foliage, fall colors are a beautiful backdrop for your images!
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