How to Have Fun with Your Engagement Photos

Jesse Draper/flickr

As much as weddings are supposed to be fun, all the stress can get in the way. But engagement photos don’t have to be stressful, and can be one of the goofiest, yet also most touching ways to celebrate your love.
While you may be excited about tying the knot, you may not be excited about your engagement photos. Couples with clichéd, cheesy engagement photos are at the mercy of their single friends’ jokes. But engagement photos don’t have to be a burden — in fact, they can be fun!
By steering clear of the typical and overused themes, your engagement photos can be cool, attractive, and show off your personality as a couple.

Thematic Ideas to Steer Clear of the Clichés

One of the best (and most common) uses of engagement photos is for save-the-dates, as BuzzFeed recommends. While these announcements don’t always include photographs, using an engagement photo as the primary focus of your save-the-date is more personal than just words on paper.
Obviously, the whole point of a save-the-date is to get your friends to actually attend the wedding, and a good photo can begin to get people excited about the incredibly important event.
Movie and pop-culture-themed engagement photos make for some of the best save-the-dates. Practically every potential wedding guest, young and old, watches movies and television.
Choosing a film to base your engagement photos off of is not only creative, but also directly expresses your personality — after all, the couple who chooses a Harry Potter theme is probably way different than the couple choosing a Titanic motif.
We especially love the Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Notebook engagement photos featured in Bridal Guide because they both parody iconic images most people are familiar with. Movie-themed engagement photos, like these featured in the Huffington Post, will keep your friends laughing with you, not at you.
Movie-themed engagement photos are sure to draw laughs, but if you are looking for an “aww” response, you might want to stick with something more traditional. But traditional doesn’t necessarily mean unoriginal. If you and your hubby or wife-to-be have a mutual interest, like sports, rock climbing, or playing chess, try incorporating it into your photos to show what you two have in common.
Themes can also inspire nostalgia by tapping into our favorite childhood memories, like balloons, the circus, high school sweethearts, or camping.
If either partner is in the military, patriotic-themed engagement photos are touching, emotional, and inspiring, as you can see on Pinterest. Any guest receiving a save-the-date with attractive dress-blues or the American flag will want to support both our troops and the happy couple.

Photo No-Nos

Pandu Adnyana Photography Tour/flickr

Even though you might be having a blast taking pictures once you’ve established a theme, you still have to watch out for common engagement photo mistakes, according to The Chive. For example, as sure as the movie-themed photos are to be a hit, make sure you fully commit to the motif.
If guests can’t tell what movie you are parodying, your photos aren’t going to inspire the good kind of laughter.
Photos of shirtless or half-naked partners — or of couples positioned too physically close to one another — are just too intimate for engagement announcements and tend to make you look sleazy.
But be sure to avoid the opposite, as well — engagement photos where the couple seems too far apart or appears disconnected won’t have guests believing yours is a match made in heaven.
Most of all, don’t be offensive. Even if people think your engagement photos are ridiculous, that’s way better than insulting them. While the groom may love bathroom humor, the bride’s grandmother probably wouldn’t be too happy seeing an engagement picture anywhere near a toilet.
Vulgarity and anything that conveys any sort of prejudice should be completely avoided, unless you’re ready for protesters to burst in during the middle of the “I Do’s.”
Finally, using a bad printer will ruin an awesome photo. For the perfect finishing touch on your engagement photos, use a reputable printing company like Printique for prints, save-the-dates, and thank you cards for guests. After having such a blast planning and shooting your engagement photos, get them printed with quality you can trust so the memories can last you till death do you part.