As a Philadelphia wedding photographer, I work with a lot of couples who request save the date photo shoots within, or in addition to, their engagement sessions. I thought I should list some of the ideas I’ve come across over the years–both as a Philadelphia wedding photographer, and on that old standby, Pinterest:
Turn A Phrase
There’s nothing cuter than coming up with your own little phrase or saying to get the message across. A classic choice is a photo of each of you holding signs that say “He asked…” and “…And she said yes.” I’ve also seen a few variations of “I stole her heart…” “…”so I’m stealing his last name” floating around. You could also go with something related to the theme of your wedding, but that’s up to you!
Write It On The Ground
Using the scenery to draw or write out your message is always a popular choice. Scrawling it in the sand or dirt works, but you can get more creative with snow or a frosty field. You can even carve your initials and the “save the date” message into a tree, as long as you do it on your own property!
Chalk It
Chalk is a great option, because it is versatile and washes away. A fence can be your chalkboard, as can a wall at your engagement session location, a driveway, a sidewalk, or even the bottoms of your shoes! And of course, there’re always good, old-fashioned chalkboards. You can hold one out in front of you while you kiss, or prop it on something, like the back of a car.
Use Your Pet
I always encourage the use of props for my engagement sessions–pets included! Use your dog… or your cat, guinea pig, or parakeet, as long as you can make him or her sit still! The easiest thing to do is hang a chalkboard around your pet’s neck with your message scrawled on it, but you can also try holding signs next to him or her, or posing your pet next to your sign.
Go 3-D
Lots of the save the dates I’ve come across on Pinterest have made use of 3-D lettering, usually in the form of blocks. You can find separate letters and numbers at any craft store, like JoAnn’s and Michael’s, and position them in whatever way you wish. I’ve even seen them strung together with each person holding one end of the string.
Play to Your Strengths
Above all things, your engagement session should encompass who you are as a couple. Your save the date photos are no different, so don’t be afraid to be quirky. If you like board games, spell your save the date message out in Scrabble tiles. If you’re big readers, find a book that you’d be willing to part with and black out all the words on the page except “save”, “the”, and “date”. The most important thing is that we get that shot that will convey the character of your love to family and friends!
