Our Engagement Photos

I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted engagement photos, simply because back in 2021, my fiancé had won a contest where we won a free photo shoot. Plus, it was a struggle even booking a photographer, because you had to book a session the minute you got engaged. Needless to say, I procrastinated a lot about wedding planning because I both moved and switched jobs within the span of three months, so these went to the bottom of the to-do list. Oops.

However, one day while scrolling on Facebook, a friend mentioned that her daughter was home for the summer and was taking some photos. I asked her if she could take our engagement photos, and she said yes.

We took them in Edgerton Park in New Haven, which was a great location. We did have Lucy, which was something really important to me, because she was such a huge part of our lives and relationship. Eric’s mom thankfully also came with us so that we can get some shots by ourselves, which is something that I recommend as well.

What We Wore:

I picked the brains of so many brides about what to wear and what to have him wear. None of them felt right to me, because I’m a very casual person, and we’re casual people. We ended up going with a simple sundress from Old Navy that I previously wore for a bridal shower, and he wore shorts and a blue shirt. It was more important for me to have photos that represented who we truly were, versus a more formal version of ourselves. I also wore a bangle bracelet, a family heirloom ring, small hoop earrings, along with a necklace that my fiancé purchased for me as a Valentine’s Day gift. Lucy even wore a bandana from Amazon that said my humans are getting married.

The Photos:

All of the photos here were taken by Sonia Agli Photography. She did an amazing job, honestly. I also wanted to note that inspiration for this post came from Moriah Robinson.

Tips and Tricks:

I will share a ton of tips about having your dog be a part of the engagement photo shoot in a later post. But, I have some more, should you be interested and/or be like me and have no idea what you’re doing:

1. Figure out what kind of wedding you want. I knew that when I was taking my engagement photos, I was not going to have a black tie wedding. Therefore, I wanted my engagement photos to reflect that I’m going to have an outside of the box wedding. Therefore, I wore a sundress and he wore shorts.

2. Be yourselves. I offered during our engagement photo shoot for my fiancé to have a Red Sox hat on in a few photos simply because he’s a Sox fan. I think that’s way more important than just the stiff casual photos where every hair is in place. Now, Eric did not end up doing that. But, I wanted the photos to reflect who we really were, versus who we’re supposed to be.

3. Bring the dog. The dog is a part of the family, so I think it’s important for them to be included in the photos, especially if you’re not planning to have the dog be a part of the ceremony.

4. Use them as gifts. Christmas is coming and these photos make great gifts for parents, and grandparents. Sorry if you’re one of our parents or grandparents reading this. . .