How to Prepare For My Minnesota Winter Engagement | Minnesota Engagement Photographer

Tips to Keep Warm for Your Minnesota Winter Engagement Photography Session!

Minnesota in winter is Magical. I am not the first person to think so! I LOVE snow and the whole season is one of my all-time favorites. If you are from the Midwest/ Minnesota, you KNOW it can be SO COLD.

I have some tips for you to make your Minnesota Winter Engagement Session more enjoyable overall!

1) Bring Hand and Feet Warmers - This is the biggest blessing I try to remember ever winter engagement session or wedding. They are so cheap there is no reason not to have an extra one or two packed in your purse for your photos.

2) Dress in Layers - I feel like the biggest advantage Minnesotans have against the harsher winters is knowing how to dress so you are comfortable. This should not be left behind when you are planning your engagement session in the winter months. Many couples have two outfits for their engagement photos. Use a cute winter aesthetic to add in a nice winter hat and gloves to make the time together more enjoyable.

3) Bring on that Coffee - Any hot drinks will feel like a godsend when you are bracing for those cold days. Don’t be afraid to bring a thermos of your favorite hot beverage to warm your soul between photos.

4) Plan a small warming break if possible - Depending on if you are at a local park or in the city, try taking a small break in a local coffee shop or jump in your car to warm your fingers up. There is nothing wrong with taking a small warmup break so you can feel your face again.

5) Bring a cozy blanket to cuddle up in - I love this there is something to cute about cuddling up with your fiance for your photos! This could be just an extra prop to be able to add to the variety of your photos while still keeping you warm!

Bonus!: Really lean into your engagement session being in winter by choose a really fun winter activity like Ice Skating, Skiing, Snow Shoeing, or enjoying a small bonfire together! They photos will be SOOO worth it!

Bringing Your Pet To Your Engagement Session | Minneapolis Wedding Photography | Tips for Brides

I LOVE animals and I know I am not the only one! I love cuddling with my two cats who I swear have two goals everyday : one- must eat the moment their humans wake up and two- keep their humans lap warm! No complaints from me!(said human)  

Pets are part of the family! So I understand when you want to have them in your engagement photos; I have a couple of tips to make your fur babies photography experience great!

Bring a third party to look after your animal once they are done with photos! Majority of the time  your animal will only be in 1/3 of your totally engagment session. The other 2/3 of the time you want to focus on just you too and nothing with take up more time and attention then a cute distracted bored animal! To keep your focus on you having a third person their will keep everything running smoothly! 

It doesnt just have to be your dog in the photos. Dogs are the most common for sessions but you are welcome to bring any pet that you want to incorporate into your photos ! For bigger animals like horses it may be easiest to plan on going where they are housed over bringing them to your engagement spot ! 

Have treats at the ready. A photo session is exciting for even the most well behaved of animals. Having their favorite treat will help keep them motivated and help me to get their attention when he is the star of the photo!  

Bring a leash for all animals! Nothing would be more horrifying than losing an animal during the session! When we are out shooting in public, it is new territory for your pet and that can be intense for any animal. To make sure their fears and uncertainties don't cause them to flee , play on the safe side and put them on a leash or a harness to grab them at a moments notice if they get too overwhelmed.  If your pet is new to the harness definitely have them wear it a couple of times around the house to get used to it before the shoot! It is one less thing to trigger stress on the day of the shoot!

Same Tips Apply for the Wedding Day! <3

Do you have any helpful tips to add? Please leave a comment below to fill us in on things I over looked!  

What to Wear to Your Engagement Shoot

I have previously written 3 Ways to ROCK Your Engagement Shoot! here on the blog. Check it out for further tips to prepare you and your fiancé for your engagement shoot.
A common question to ask yourself before an engagement session is: "What should I wear?" To answer that I have written out a outline of things that your clothes should fit to make it a little easier to choose!
My MW couples can expect an average engagement session to last 1 to 1.5 hrs on average.  In that time plan on having two outfits. A clothing change eats into your overall shoot time, which in turn eats into valuable sunlight hours; changing into a different outfit takes up to 15- 20 minutes on average. Limiting the amount of changes gets you more time in your session, which gives you more photos!

Dress in something that makes you comfortable and confident!  You can visually see when someone is wearing something that it comfortable and likewise see when it's uncomfortable. The goal of your engagement session is to enjoy time with your love not be worrying about what you're wearing. Make sure that shirt you have kept a hold on to that hugs you in the wrong way stays at home.

When picking out your outfits keep your shoot location in mind. Dressing according to your location will help to choose clothes that carries on the photo story of  the day.  An example of this would be both of you wear cowboy attire in the middle of the city. Those two ideas clash and distracts.  You want to stand out from your background but not so much so that it takes away from your love story.  Keep the colors and patterns your style but subtle.  You want your love to pop in the photos not being drowned out by overly bright colors and patterns. Thinking of you location will also help which shoes to take. Nothing is more trying than walking through grass in your gorgeous stiletto heels! If you want to shoot in fields, grassy areas, or hike over rocks bring an extra pair of shoes to get to point A and B then change when you get there. This way you can still have picture perfect shoes in your photos.   

Hair and makeup tip: Try out your hair and makeup for your wedding at your engagement session.  This extra step will enable you to see the makeup and hair stylist skill at achieving your vision as well as seeing how well it photographs!