This session was shot by GMP founder and Principal Photographer Elizabeth Millar
A loving and intimate engagement story around Downtown Orlando told with photography and super 8 video
Not every couple books an engagement session — and honestly, not every couple needs one. If you’re planning a courthouse wedding or elopement, you’ve probably already decided to keep things uncomplicated, and adding another session to the calendar doesn’t always fit the timeline or the budget.
But there are some genuinely good reasons to consider one. Sarah and Chris, who also had me for their wedding at the Orange County Courthouse in June, are a nice illustration of a few of them.
Reason #1 to have an engagement session: To work out the camera nerves
Sarah mentioned before we started that they were feeling nerves about being photographed during their courthouse wedding coming up and they figured spending an hour with me before the wedding would take the edge off. That’s reason numero uno why an engagement session can be a great idea.
The engagement session doesn’t rehearse your vows. It rehearses being photographed. By the time we finished our time in downtown Orlando, they’d found their rhythm together in front of my lens so when their wedding day comes, there will be none of that first-time stiffness. They’ll already know how it works and it’ll show in every frame.
Reason #2 to have an engagement session: To shoot somewhere that’s yours
Rather than picking a location just because it’s close to the wedding, Sarah and Chris chose a place tied to their own story and the scene of their first date.
We started at the CityArts building on Orange Avenue, with its extraordinary cast iron gates and deep hunter green exterior. We happened to catch them right at closing time so we were able to shoot with the swan gates closed and we got many shots with their fur baby.
Then we moved to Church Street Station where they had their first date. Completely different energy: brick underfoot, Victorian streetscape, a little grit alongside a little whimsy.
The variety between those two locations gave us a gallery that felt like a complete story rather than a single mood.
Reason #3 to have an engagement session: To get more time with your photographer
Weddings and elopements tend to move quickly which means your photographer has a shorter window to get to know how you move, how you interact, what makes you laugh. An engagement session fills that gap. By the time your wedding day arrives, you’re not strangers to me as your photographer, and that ease tends to come through in the photographs.
Is an engagement session right for you?
If you’re booking close to your date or working with a tight budget, skip the engagement session and put your energy into the day itself — you don’t need one to get beautiful wedding photographs. But if you have the time, and any of the above resonates, it’s worth considering. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. An hour in a place that means something to you is enough.
