How to Survive a Summer Engagement Session

Guess how hot it was this weekend in Austin, Texas. 

It was 98 degrees. 

Felt like 103. And I would consider that not that bad for a day in June.

Texas summers are no freakin’ joke y’all. They can be straight up miserable!

BUT summer is also the time of year that people have lots of free time. You can take vacations and school is out. 

For us, we like the summer because the sunset is really late. Which means we can start portrait sessions later and our couples don’t have to leave work early!

If you’re thinking in terms of save the dates, your 6-8 month mark might be all of summer.

Sometimes planning wise you just have to have a summer engagement session.

I get it (even if I don’t really get it), I get it.

Here’s the good news. See this photo of Kelly & Ryan?

This was taken in the middle of June. We were all extremely sweaty. (At least we were all in it together right??)

But I mean – look at them! They look comfy and happy, even though they didn’t really want to get that close to each other…(and I don’t blame them!)

Here are a few of my tips to surviving and thriving during your summer engagement session! Especially in the Texas heat! 🙂

*Pause real quick!* P.S. If you prefer to watch this in video form, click here!

Keep in mind when you’re planning your session

01. Find a Versatile Location

If you can, plan for a location that has a spot with AC to pop into to catch a break. Especially if it’s going to be especially humid. Which is like, every day, ngl.

A good idea is to find both an indoor/outdoor location. A more lifestyle-esque session pairs well for this.

For a perfect example of a lifestyle session, check out Rylee & Riley’s engagement session!

P.S. theirs is a sunset session, which brings me to number two!

02. Plan for a sunrise session

We plan our engagement sessions in the dreamiest light, which means 1-2 hours before the sun goes down. This means we can also plan for 1-2 hours after the sun comes up!

When you want to go to a popular and crowded Austin location, sunrise sessions are a must. But during the summer, you should absolutely plan for a sunrise session.

In the morning light, the temperature is a million times nicer than when the sun has been up all day. Okay, maybe not a million but we’ll take any margin we can get in this Texas heat, amirite??

For example, Callie & Rob’s session here was last August and even at 8am it was brutal! But we did start off with a cooler morning, which made our sweating a-okay! 

What to pack for your session

01. BRING WATER

Yes that’s all in caps, but it’s extremely important. Especially if it’s humid out. Because, did you know you get dehydrated quicker when it’s more humid out?? The last thing we want is one of our couples passing out in the middle of a session.  

Make sure to bring enough for both of you. We always carry bags so we can help y’all if you need! No worries about that.

02. SPF + Bug spray

A no brainer when you go outside anytime in Texas! Make sure to put both on before your session. It’s a good idea to bring more along just in case! Mosquitos are totally not invited to your engagement session.

03. Hand Towel or Blotting Papers

No judgement here, friends. One time, AJ carried around a small towel in his back pocket for one of our grooms during a July wedding. We do it because we care!! 

There will be time to do a little dab here or there if you tend to drip sweat ! This is totally not a necessity, but if you know it’s going to bug you and be on your mind, bring a little towel along to help you out!

04. Bonus: Water Spray Fan

Why the heck not right?? Here’s one for 13 bucks at Target. 

Related Blog: 5 Ways to Prep for your Session

Now, some things to remember

So you’ve got how to plan for your summer engagement session, and you’ve got the things you can bring to make it a little easier on you and your boo. Now here’s how to set your expectations to make sure we all have a good time! 🙂

01. Don’t sweat it

The biggest thing to remember is that sweat does not show up in photos like you think it might. I know it is so easy to start getting self conscious about it and then it’s all you can think about. And then you just sweat more!

While I did say you could bring a towel or blotting papers, try not to worry too much about your sweat during the session. You might feel sopping wet with sweat, but I promise if anything you’ll just look dewy on our cameras. 

All these photos I’ve been showing you? We were all dripping sweat. See how you can’t even tell?

02. Consider your HMU

The other thing to consider is your hair and make up. I talk all the time about treating yourself and getting it professionally done!

This is especially the case if you’re having a summer engagement session. You’ll want to work with your hair and make up artist to make sure it’ll stand the test of heat and humidity. Setting spray is our friend 🥰

Keeping your long hair down might sound like a good idea when you’re in the AC of the dry bar, but try to think ahead. A cute half up half down look, or a braid or pony to keep your hair off your neck might be your best bet.

You especially want to consider what style will look cute throughout the whole session. My tough love here is that what you walk out of the salon with is not always what will last for 1-2 hours in humidity.

The last thing I want is for you to feel frustrated the whole session because your hairline is getting sweaty or your hair is getting tangled from the wind/sweat/humidity (hi, me and my hair literally all the time).

If keeping it up means it looks bomb the whole time, and you never have to think about it, I think that’s our clear winner!

Last but not least!

My last reminder to you is to (literally) not sweat the small stuff. Your engagement session is meant to document this wonderful, whirlwind of a season in your lives as fiancés. Or as I have lovingly deemed it: fiance-hood.

It’s going to be you and your love story no matter what. I promise when you look back on these photos, you’re going to remember how you feel.

If you set out to enjoy yourself and just have fun with your best friend, you’ll look back on the photos fondly. But if you try to fight the weather instead of embracing the sweat, I promise it won’t be the same!

Check out our recent engagement sessions on the blog here! Pay attention to the ones from May-July (I would say August, but I no longer let couples book then because it’s just so awful…) Those are the hottest ones, but I bet you anything you wouldn’t be able to tell without the time stamp!