When deciding what to wear for engagement photos, I like to look at the entire picture. What season are we in? Do you want your session to feel relaxed and understated or a little more formal? Most importantly, what will allow the two of you to feel comfortable and like yourselves? After more than a decade of photographing couples, these are the things I recommend keeping in mind as you begin planning your engagement session outfits.
1. Start With How You Want Your Engagement Photos to Feel
Before you start shopping or pulling pieces from your closet, think about the overall feeling you want for your photographs. Maybe you love the idea of getting dressed up and spending an evening at a beautiful estate. Perhaps something relaxed in Rittenhouse Square feels much more like the two of you. There isn’t one option that’s better than another. What matters is that your clothing feels appropriate for the experience you’re creating.
I find it much easier to choose individual pieces once we’ve decided on that overall direction. Instead of asking whether you like a particular dress or jacket on its own, we can think about whether it makes sense for the setting, season, and way you want your photographs to feel.
2. Let Your Engagement Session Location Guide Your Outfits
Your location and wardrobe should feel like they belong together when considering what to wear for engagement photos.
For a fall engagement session at a historic estate, for example, I love a more formal look. A black suit paired with a long ivory dress feels right at home against stone architecture, manicured gardens, and a grand staircase.
A relaxed Rittenhouse Square session gives us room to be a little more understated. Soft camel, cream, blush, and other warm neutrals pair beautifully with the neighborhood’s greenery and historic streets without feeling overly dressed up.
At the shore, I love lighter fabrics and colors that move naturally in the breeze. Linen, ivory, cream, and sandy neutrals complement the landscape rather than competing with it.
Thinking about the setting first helps your outfits feel like a natural part of the photographs rather than something chosen separately from them.
3. Coordinate Without Matching
You don’t need to wear the same colors to look cohesive in your engagement photos. In fact, I usually prefer when couples don’t. Instead, think about choosing colors that work beautifully beside one another. If one of you is wearing a soft neutral, the other might bring in navy, charcoal, camel, or black. If you’re wearing a dress with a little more detail or texture, your partner’s outfit can be simpler so the two looks balance each other.
I also recommend thinking about formality when it comes to what to wear for engagement photos. A floor-length dress paired with a casual polo is likely to feel disconnected, even if the colors coordinate perfectly. When both outfits feel like they belong at the same event, everything comes together much more naturally.
4. Don’t Feel Like You Have to Wear Only Light Colors
Neutral colors photograph beautifully, but that doesn’t mean every engagement session needs to be beige, cream, and white. Black can be incredibly elegant, particularly for a city or estate session. Navy and charcoal are classic choices for men, while soft blush, muted blue, camel, and deeper neutrals can all work beautifully depending on the season and setting. Rather than following a rule about which colors you should or shouldn’t wear, I pay more attention to how the entire palette works together.
5. Decide How Formal You Want to Be
Your engagement session is a wonderful excuse to dress up if that’s something you enjoy. For couples who want a more formal look, a suit or sport coat paired with a beautiful dress photographs wonderfully, particularly at estates, gardens, and some of Philadelphia’s more architectural locations. Heels, a beautiful watch, or thoughtful jewelry can finish the look without needing to add very much.
But formal isn’t the only way to create beautiful engagement photographs. For a more relaxed session, tailored trousers, a knit polo, loafers, a simple dress, or a beautiful jacket can still feel polished while being closer to what you might actually wear on a date together. I want your outfits to feel intentional, but I never want you to feel like you’re dressed as someone else for your photographs.
6. Choose Your Shoes With the Entire Session in Mind
Shoes are one of those details that can make an outfit feel finished, but they also need to work for the location. If we’re photographing in Philadelphia, there’s a good chance we’ll spend part of the session walking between locations. Cobblestones and uneven sidewalks aren’t always especially friendly to heels. You can absolutely wear the shoes you love for your photographs, but I often recommend bringing a comfortable pair to slip on while we’re walking. The same goes for garden and estate sessions where we may be moving across grass or gravel. You’ll enjoy the experience much more if you’re not thinking about your feet the entire evening.
7. Make Sure You Still Feel Like Yourselves
There are plenty of recommendations I can make about color, formality, and location, but this is the one that matters most. You should still recognize yourselves in your engagement photographs.
I don’t want you to choose something simply because you’ve seen it in other engagement sessions or because you think it’s what you’re “supposed” to wear. The best wardrobe is one that feels like an elevated version of your own style and allows you to forget about what you’re wearing once the session begins. When you’re comfortable, you can focus on one another. You can walk, laugh, talk, and actually enjoy the evening rather than worrying about whether everything looks perfect.
What to Wear for Engagement Photos You’ll Still Love Years From Now
When you’re deciding what to wear for engagement photos, you don’t need to follow a complicated list of rules or completely reinvent your personal style. Start with the location and season, choose a level of formality that feels right for the two of you, and look for pieces that coordinate beautifully while still allowing each of you to feel like yourselves.
As a Philadelphia engagement photographer, I’m always happy to help my couples think through their wardrobe before their session. We can look at the location, season, colors, and overall feeling you want for your photographs so that everything works together beautifully when the day arrives. If you’re planning your engagement photos in Philadelphia, New Jersey, or beyond and are looking for a photographer who will thoughtfully guide you through the entire experience, I would love to hear more about the two of you. Inquire today to begin planning an engagement session.
