I firmly believe that engagement pictures are necessary to have for your wedding and beyond. They can be such a memorable time between you and your partner where you get to celebrate your engagement and show off your personalities through professional pictures. I could go on and on about why I feel so strongly about to use your engagement pictures, but I’ll stop there. Once you get your pictures back from your Seattle engagement photographer don’t just keep them on your computer, show everyone, put them everywhere!

I hope that you find this blog post helpful with all the different ways you can display those stunning pictures. Here are twelve ways to get the most out of your engagement pictures: 

1. Social Media

I know I know, everyone already does this haha. Just in case you needed that reminder though, here you go. You can post these to show off your engagement, write up something sweet about your partner, use them for wedding updates, or whatever else you want to post them for. Go ahead and change all your profile pictures and headers to display these pictures even more!

2. Save The Dates

Another pretty obvious one, we’ll get to the more uncommon options towards the bottom (I promise). Many people use their engagement pictures for their save the date cards, which is such a perfect option. As a photographer, I adore getting these in the mail from my clients! Incorporating your pictures this way allows you to announce this special event in a personal way to your wedding guests.

3. Wedding Invitations

Whether you’re sending out just invitations or having these follow up after your save the date cards, you can use your engagement pictures for it all! Your wedding invitations aren’t the only thing you might send out at this time. Some people send out a whole array of printed products, such as – RSVP cards, menu cards, wedding registry cards, accommodations lists, envelopes, and address labels. I’m not saying you have to send out all of these, but if you are, you can definitely get creative with incorporating your engagement pictures in some or all of these.

A bonus option: Use them for your bridal shower invitations too!

4. Thank You Cards

Similar to your save the dates and invitations, thank you cards are another great choice to add your engagement pictures to! With all of these printed products, you can hire a graphic designer to help create something beautiful or there are a ton of great websites that you can do them yourself (the websites probably have templates if you want to take advantage of those). This combo of your engagement pictures and a hand-written message will definitely have your guests feeling sentimental.

5. Personalized Photo Stamps

You’re going to use stamps to send out all of your save the dates, wedding or other invitations, and thank you notes. You’re already making all of what’s going inside of these envelopes special and custom to you, so why not have the outside reflect that also?

6. Wedding Website

I highly recommend having a wedding website! Not only can you include all of your engagement pictures here, but it’s definitely a valuable resource for your guests to visit to check for details about the wedding, keep up with any updates that might occur, and discover links to your wedding registry. Use your engagement pictures to spruce up your website!

7. Custom Guest Book

This is one that I feel is becoming a more popular thing at weddings now. I have seen a lot of people lay out a fully custom book with room on the pages for their guests to sign when arriving at their wedding. If you don’t like that option, consider just having a book of your engagement pictures with maybe some text about your love story for guests to look through and learn more about your relationship.

8. Photo Slide For Rehearsal Dinner or Reception

Have someone, or do it yourself, put together a slideshow of your engagement pictures (you can include other pictures as well) for people to watch at your rehearsal dinner or to have to play while your guests are waiting at the reception. If you’re planning to have anyone say speeches, this would be an excellent time to have this playing in the background.

9. Wedding Decor or Favors

There are numerous ways you can include your engagement pictures in your wedding decor. You can use them for custom table numbers, have a gallery wall displaying them, use them as toppers for your sweet treats, etc. For wedding favors there are endless ideas with these too, I feel like every year people are getting more and more creative. A few that I’ve seen where you can include your engagement pictures are personalized koozies/coasters, a matchbox with a candle, a candy box, etc. You can literally have pictures printed on just about anything now, so totally get creative with this!

10. Gifts For Loved Ones

A lot of couples will give their parents a little gift at the rehearsal dinner or the day of the wedding. It’s not usually anything luxurious, just a little something to say thank you for getting you where you are today. A gift like a framed picture of you and your partner will be sure to make them smile. Don’t just stop at your wedding, you can gift items with your engagement pictures on them or just basic prints for any holiday/event!

11. Holiday Cards to Use your Engagement Pictures

Since engagement pictures are more versatile than your wedding portraits, you can literally use these as long as you want. So put them on holiday cards or anything else!

12. Print Them For Your Home

There’s nothing like seeing your pictures in print, it’s a whole different sensation than seeing them digitally. Decorating your new space with photos from your engagement session will be sure to make your place feel more homey and alive. This is also a great way to just enjoy them in your everyday life.

I bet you didn’t know there were this many ways to use your engagement pictures, not only for just your wedding but afterward too. This post hopefully gave you the inspiration you needed for what to do with your engagement pictures. These are special and should do more than hide away in a file on your computer. FLAUNT THEM!