What is a Pre-Wedding Shoot?

A Pre-Wedding shoot is a photo session with your wedding photographer, done about 3 to 6 months before your wedding day.

The main aim of the Pre-Wedding Shoot is to get used to being in front of the camera, build rapport with your photographer, and receive a lovely set of romantic photographs well before your wedding.

There are different names to this depending on which part of the world you’re in.

Engagement Shoot:

• Popular in the Western world, in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Western Europe and America.
• Brief photoshoots lasting 1~2 hours
• Smart casual outfits
• Candid and casual photos, usually un-posed.
• Many (hundreds) of colour-corrected but non-retouched digital photos

Pre-Wedding Shoot:

• Popular with Asian, Russian and Eastern European couples.
• Photoshoots lasting anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks!
• A huge range of outfits, ranging from traditional cultural garments to smart casuals and formal Western wedding dresses.
• A mix of tight, posed photos to candid and casual photos.
• A selection of retouched photographs (usually 20~40) and hundreds of colour-corrected digital photos

Prenup (Pre-nupital) Shoot:

• Pre-Wedding Shoots are called “Prenup” shoots in the Philippines.

Pre-Wedding Clicks:

• Pre-Wedding Shoots are also called “Pre-Wedding Clicks” in India and South Asia.

Effectively, they all signify the same thing for people who are planning their wedding: a photo shoot with a wedding photographer a few months or weeks before your wedding day.

So, should you have a Pre-Wedding Shoot?

Here are 5 reasons why many couples choose to have a Pre-Wedding Shoot.

1) Beautiful Photographs, regardless of weather.

Are you worried that it might rain on your wedding day? Is there not enough time for location photos on the big day?

Having a Pre-Wedding Photoshoot will ensure that you will have beautiful wedding photographs, regardless of the weather on your actual wedding day. If it looks like it will rain on the Pre-Wedding Shoot day, you can always re-schedule the photoshoot with your photographer.

At Nomad Weddings, we offer two extra wet-weather redundancy dates with every Pre-Wedding Shoot booking.

2) Photos to use on Invitations and display items at the Wedding

Photos from your Pre-Wedding Shoot can be used on your Wedding Invitations, and be displayed at the entrance of your Wedding Venue to keep guests entertained while they wait for your arrival. Play them on a loop on the big screen, or print them out big as Albums and Framed Fine Art Prints.

At Nomad Weddings we offer Bespoke, hand-crafted Wedding Albums that are made in New Zealand. Click HERE for more info on our Wedding Albums.

3) Get to know your Wedding Photographer & Makeup Artist

Pre-Wedding Shoots are like a rehearsal before your Wedding Day, to get used to being in front of the camera and to get to know your Photographer and Makeup Artist.

You can spend a little bit of time in a low-pressure situation talking about and overcoming your fears of getting photographed, and rehearsing the role of being models in front of the camera. And you will most likely receive a selection of romantic and fun photographs, months before your wedding.

It’s great for me to find out about you as a couple, how affectionate are you or do you want to be in public. Some couples are happy to kiss in front of the camera, others are happy to hold hands and have a cuddle. You will also find out about the photographer’s shooting style and their little quirks, so that you are not too surprised if he disappears in the undergrowth on your wedding day and you wonder what’s going on (taking photographs through the foliage creates an amazing effect!!).

Tie the Pre-Wedding Shoot in with your Makeup Trial, so that you will know what makeup suits you best, and go straight to the Photoshoot with Professional Makeup already on!

4) Enjoy a Vacation

Are you planning a vacation with your partner before your wedding day? Find a local photographer in your destination – they will know all the photogenic spots in the region, acting as a sort of a private tour guide. Ask them what the season specials are, and they should be able to guide you with outfit choices to suit the locations too.

5) Do things you can’t do on your Wedding Day

Fancy going away to the top of a beautiful mountain in Queenstown on a Helicopter?

Or perhaps sneak out late at night to a dark sky reserve, for Epic Night Shots under the Milkyway Galaxy… in your beautiful wedding dress?The world is your playground when it comes to Pre-Wedding Shoots. We offer both of these exciting products as add-on products for our Pre-Wedding Shoot Packages.