Birmingham Botanical Gardens Engagement Session with Kayla White Photography

So, you want to know if booking that engagement session is actually worth it.
Short answer? Absolutely!
Long answer? Stick around and enjoy this gorgeous summer engagement session featuring Kylie and Lance at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama; as I explain why as a wedding photographer, I believe engagement sessions are totally worth it and how I recommend making the best of it!

Birmingham Alabama Engagement Session at The Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Photo shows a couple leaning against a column. Male leans with his back on the column as female leans her back into him. He wraps his arms around her waist, she touches his hands as they smile towards the camera.

As a wedding photographer, I find that engagements sessions are such an important part of the journey to your wedding day. Finding the perfect photographer to capture the day your new life begins should be one of your top priorities when wedding planning. You want to find someone you both connect with and feel comfortable around. You want your photographer to feel a connection and comfort with you too.

This is where an engagement session comes in!

Engagement sessions are the perfect chance for you, your partner and your photographer to get to know each other. Think of it as a fun date night with a stranger just third-wheeling it with a camera. Pick a nice outfit or two, something flattering that you feel cute, comfortable and nice in. Pick a location that you love. It could be someplace special to the two of you, it could be somewhere new to explore together, or just somewhere you just think is super cool. Just be sure to wear the right shoes. Hiking and heels don’t always mix. 😉

The Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama makes the perfect backdrop for any session at any time of year. Spring and summer being one of the most beautiful times at the gardens. The blooms, the greenery, and the acres of options make it a great location for engagement sessions!

Side note: Once we have all of the details laid out – how about you guys pick a place to go for dinner afterwards. Just the two of you, of course. Make a reservation somewhere nice and have a sit down dinner together. Take advantage of being all dressed up and take a night to refocus on the two of you. You have been busy planning a wedding after all!
This is exactly what Lance and Kylie did after their engagement shoot and I cannot recommend it enough!

Couple sits in a shaded, grassy area. Female is sitting in her fiance's lap with her hand on his cheek as they laugh and smile at each other. This is a fun pose example for a Birmingham Engagement Session

Besides just having a date where this other human follows you around trying to make you laugh by making you “kiss with your teeth” or “fake laugh until you real laugh” while snapping away with a camera in your face. An engagement session is the ideal time to get to know who will be around during all of the fun and intimate moments of your wedding day. You don’t want some stranger you found online just showing up at your wedding day and getting all up in your business while in your skivvies, do you? Nah, didn’t think so. (Unless you said yes of course, weirdo.)

I have found that having an engagement session before the wedding helps the couple loosen up a little. Especially if you or your partner are shy around new people or cameras. We have the time to relax, chat and get to know each other. That way, when the wedding day rolls around, we know exactly what we are getting ourselves into. No figuring out your best poses or ways to make you laugh. No shyness or jitters. Well, at least not because of any bossy strangers with cameras in your face! We can just get to the schedule and get things done! And you can rest easy knowing you are in good hands. Because you already know and love your photographer and they work they do.

I do understand that engagement sessions may just not be your thing. Maybe your fiancé hates photos and only agrees to taking them at the wedding. Hate to break it to ya bud, photo sessions are a part of your life now. LOL! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve showed up to an engagement session or family session and had a grumpy groom (or dad). Yet, without fail, by the end, he’s laughing and saying, “Wow, that really wasn’t so bad. Thanks for making that fun and go by so fast!”

Or maybe you’ve already had photos done by a friend or other photographer that you hired and you just don’t want to, or can’t, spend the extra money on another engagement session. I totally get that too! That’s why I include an engagement session in all of my wedding day collections at no extra cost. That’s just how much I value that time getting to know my couples before the main event. I truly believe in building a strong client/photographer relationship and I think you’ll find most photographers in the wedding industry agree. So regardless if you hire me or someone else; if they offer an engagement session – just do it!
You won’t regret it. <3