Engagement Session on the Swiss Riviera: Why Do One Before Your Wedding
Some evenings you just don't forget. For this engagement session, we met [above Lake Geneva / location to specify] right as the light turned golden… and, by rare coincidence, during the solar eclipse. Look closely at the first image and you'll spot the sun reduced to a thin crescent, just above the horizon. Impossible to plan, impossible to repeat.
What is an engagement session?
It's a couple's photo session, a few weeks or months before the wedding. No complicated wedding dress, no guests, no tight schedule: just the two of you, a beautiful setting, and time to let go.
1. Getting to know each other (and building trust)
Everything moves fast on the wedding day. If we're meeting for the first time on the morning of the wedding, it takes a moment to find our footing. With an engagement session, we've already shared a real moment together: I know how you like to move, what makes you laugh, which side you prefer to be photographed from. And you know how I work, and that I'll never make you hold a stiff pose.
Look at these images: the fit of laughter forehead to forehead, the knowing glance over a shoulder, the improvised dip in the grass. None of it is posed. These are the moments that happen when people feel at ease, and that's exactly what I aim to create.
2. Practicing in front of the camera, pressure-free
Many couples tell me, "We're not photogenic." After an engagement session, that sentence almost always disappears. You learn to forget the camera, enjoy the moment, and discover you actually like how you look in photos. On the wedding day, you'll already be relaxed.
3. Visuals for the rest of your wedding
This is the very practical upside of the session: you walk away with beautiful images you can use for:
your save-the-dates and invitations,
your wedding website or gift registry,
a guest book or welcome sign on the day,
lovely gifts for your loved ones.
And you don't have to choose between a wide shot in the landscape or a more intimate portrait: an engagement session lets you vary the framing, from sweeping views to small details (a hand, a ring, a glance).
4. A moment just for the two of you, amid the planning
Between the caterer, the venue, the guest list and the budget, it's easy to lose sight of why you're getting married. This session is a pause: two people walking, laughing, reconnecting. Many couples tell me it's one of their favorite memories from the whole planning process.
How to prepare for your engagement session
Choose a place that feels like you — somewhere you love to walk, rather than a "photogenic" spot where you don't feel at home.
Aim for golden hour — the soft evening light is flattering for everyone.
Wear outfits you feel good in, with a pop of colour if you like (here, red trousers give the whole series its personality).
Come as you are — the more you enjoy yourselves, the truer the photos will be.
Want to do one before your wedding?
I offer engagement sessions along the Swiss Riviera (Montreux, Vevey, Lavaux, Lausanne) and the surrounding area. Get in touch and we'll pick the perfect place and time together.
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