Guide: How to Use Engagement Photos at Wedding

So, you have done your engagement session, and now you have been granted a ton of pictures. It would be a shame to not use them, and just letting them sleep on your harddrive.
The first thing to do is to select the best of them. Once this is done, what can you do to get the best of them?
We have gathered ideas on how to include your engagement photos in your perfect dream day.
As you will see, there are many ways and many objects that can be customized!

Table of Contents

On the necessity of having your engagement session taken.

Just a quick word if you are still in the early planning process and are not quite sure if you need an engagement session or not.
At French-Touch-Photography, we can’t encourage all our couples enough to have an engagement photo session before their big day. It really makes a difference in your wedding photography. It helps couples to know their wedding photographer and helps them learn all they need to know for their big day: the pose, the light, and the direction. On D-day, you are less nervous and in a better mood. You show more confidence to reveal your true love faster (so it saves time). As a result, we have a better picture that reflects both of your personalities.

How to use your photos Before the wedding

The customization options start way before the big event. Let’s see all the little details where you can put your face on.

Save the date

Those are the announcement cards. You tell people to reserve your date.
Most couples use their engagement photos in their save-the-date cards.

Invitations

Those are the official invitations you send to your guests with all the information they need. Again, upgrade them with more images of you.

Photo stamps!

Did you know that you can go online and print stamps with pictures? Sending your save-the-date and invitations can be a funny way to personalize things.

Bride and Groom Website

Today, most couples would have a wedding website to centralize all the information (with the count-down). Let think to Zola, TheKnot or Weddingwire for instance. You can have a page telling your story and a photo gallery showing your favorite engagement photos.
If you do so, don’t forget to credit your photographer.

Holidays Cards

Don’t wait for your wedding day to use your pic. You can showcase them in your holiday wishes.
That works well, especially when your engagement session is taken years prior to your wedding day.

Hang some Framed Print in Your Home

We always recommend that couples print their photos! Print some canvas, poster, framed them and hang them on your wall!

Share Your Engagement Photos

Once your gallery is released, share it with your family and friends! They are always happy to see new pictures of you.

If you had your hair makeup trial before the session, don’t forget to share them with your makeup artist!

Create a Time Capsule

If you don’t know what a time capsule is, you should check it now. It’s a funny way to make a surprise in the future, to yourself and your kids.

Social Media

Update your social media profiles and publish photos on Facebook and Instagram (don’t forget to give your photographer credit photos).

How to use your engagement photos on the wedding day

Now, let’s get on all the crazy and creative options to customize things for your event. You can use them as decorations, present them, and use them to personalize all kinds of things!

Guest book album

The guest book album features a special layout, including white areas for people to sign.

We love this idea so much that we have included it in several of our packages that we print on good paper. You can check here.

Although it’s not a wedding album, if you take good care of it, you can keep it for decades!

Present a Slideshow During Rehearsal Dinner or Reception

Create a slideshow (or a video presentation) showing the couple’s Journey. This one can be showend during your rehearsal dinner, or during your reception. That’s work we handle if needed.

Offer your Bridal Party some Gifts

As wedding photographers, we have seen some clients offering all kinds of little gifts to the members of their bridal party. Indeed, today, you can print photos on almost any support, so let’s be creative.

The two best ideas I have seen are personalized socks, or ties for the groomsmen. And temporary tattoos for the bridesmaids.

That said, there are tons of other options: keychain, mugs, magnets, phone cases, puzzles, pillows, water bottles or tote bags, just to name a few.

Give Gifts to your Family members.

Sharing your images through the web gallery is great, but giving a real print is somehow better.

You can for instance offer a framed print and offer it to your dad or mom to thank them for being amazing parents.

Your grandparents’ family walls might need a little refreshment.

Make a special Ceremony program

You can customize your ceremony program with a picture of your photoshoot.

Use it on your Photo booth welcome screen.

We present one of your favorite shots on the screen of your photo booth.
You could also consider having photos of you included in the photo booth layout or having a photo of you printed at each session.

Your Print on an Easel

You can print a poster, a large framed print, or a canvas. Showcase it on a nice wood easel and install it near the gift table. Tips: Choose frames that you like; you can reuse them afterward!

Create a fun Sign-in Board with your face.

Create a beautiful sign-in board including a portrait of you in the middle. Today you can easily print on wood or canvas.

Print on a Banner

If you get married in a huge venue with several reception rooms, such as a hotel or a convention center, you want to make sure your guests can easily find the room. Some brides and grooms will print vinyl banners and signs using their photos. Of course, it depends on your location.

Decoration on your Guests’ Table

For your table centerpiece decoration, you can print and frame some pictures. Those can be a small gift for your guest, or you can bring them back home.

Decorative Photo display

If you want to share a bit of your love with your guest, you can set up a corner with a lot of photos of you.

For instance, you can use a large wood frame and hang tons of 4 × 6 prints on a string.

Tips: you can include a variety of moments: your proposal captured, your last trip to a wonderful destination in the mountains, you kissing at sunrise, fun situations, your lifestyle, your hobbies, etc.

Personalization: An infinite variety of options to personalized small elements on your Wedding day

Nowadays, thanks to cheap printing companies, you can customize almost anything.

Here is a list of things where you can simply but your face on it, which will be cool.

Custom Wedding Aisle Runner
Signing Table and Gift Table decoration
Napkins with your faces (or with your dog’s face)
Coaster with the bride and groom portrait
Wedding Menu
Wedding Timeline Display (usually set at the ceremony)
Wedding Seating Charts,
Wedding cakes with your printed portrait on the top, Wedding Cake Table, or Dessert Bar Décor
Social Media Hashtag Sign (if you create a sign with your Hashtag)
Customized Dance Floor Vinyl or image projection from the DJ
Water Bottle with a special sticker with your face on it
Folding fan (for the ceremony)

Weddings Favors

A lot of newlyweds would thank their invitees with a little gift. That’s an additional opportunity to use your photos.

You can offer a paper bag of cookies (with your face on it), magnets, hot chili sauce, spice jar, tatoos etc.!

Conclusion: Don’t turn your wedding into a Couple’s marketing event

We have seen that there are many ways to customize objects at a wedding. The trap that you should not fall into is to use all the options mentioned earlier and have your face and names of everything. Those customizations are great for a brand marketing event, but even if your wedding day is about you, you don’t need to over-promote yourself in all possible ways.

Our recommendation is to pick a few things that seem fun for you. We would suggest a fun wedding favor that people could use in the future with your face on it.