planning for engagement photos

Once we had our photographers in place, it was time to pick a date for our engagement photos. Our package included a one hour pre-wedding session with the photographers, which I think is an important part of your photography package.

While it's nice to have some pre-wedding photos taken, there is a method to the madness. If photography is a priority in your wedding, I highly recommend getting engagement photos! They give you an opportunity to feel out your photographer's vibe and style. It also helps you as a couple get comfortable behind the camera.

When we started planning our engagement photos it was the end of August and we were heading into the season of Fall colours. I knew I wanted to wait until after most of the leaves had fallen. While I love Fall foliage and a good pumpkin spice latte, I didn't want our photos to scream Fall. So we planned for our photos in early November.

Nelson loving on the Fall // personal photo 

I was hoping for a contrast of dull beauty from the bare trees and some evergreens in the background as well. I also loved that the pictures would be a stark contrast from the type of photos we'll get in August. We were risking ourselves on the snow front, but we set the date and crossed our fingers. Our plan for the photos was a sort of "day in the life" session at our house and outside on our property.

Mr. Narwhal and I went on a shopping trip in the city one day and hit up the change rooms to find ourselves a coordinating outfit without screaming coordination. I majorly lucked out at h&m, as did he. Then we splurged and bought ourselves some new boots. Nothing like a new pair of brown boots heading into Fall!

A couple weeks before the shoot I bought myself a black sweater for our inside photos and a yellow blanket for some of our outdoor photos. With our props and outfits in place, we were ready to go.

As for my hair and makeup, I really had a hard time deciding what to do at first. I have a love for makeup and would love to have a monthly budget category for Sephora (sadly do not). I knew I had the skill to pull off my hair and makeup, but was feeling indecisive as to whether I would have enough oomph.

A few years ago I got eyelash extensions done before my backpacking trip to Europe. I love love loved them and made a mental note that I would definitely get them for my wedding day. As we were getting closer to the day of our photos I made my case to Mr. Narwhal that I needed to get eyelash extensions for our photos so that I could test out the salon for our wedding day (the last place I got them done was in Ottawa).

I won my case and a few days before our shoot I got my eyelashes done, and then shellac manicure the next day. I also planned this super well because we got our photos done the day before my birthday, so I had new lashes and my nails done for my birthday too!

before // personal image 

after // personal image

On the day of, I put in some finger waves in my hair, and did a simple "everyday" makeup look*. We got dressed and were ready to go!

pre-photo selfie! // personal photo 

Stay tuned for our engagement photo reveal!

Have you gotten eyelash extensions done before?

*For the curious, I used bare minerals foundation and blush, a mixture of the Lorac Pro palette and Naked Basics for my eye shadow and Quo blonde eyebrow filler.