Mountain Engagement Photos | Tips and Tricks from a Vedauwoo Engagement

Cheyenne has been so windy this week! As I move through edits of my fall sessions, I am preparing myself for the inevitable winter gusts while I relive some beautiful fall evenings we had over the last month. Ola and Patrick’s Vedauwoo engagement was one of those evenings that make me thankful to be a Cheyenne photographer. Wyoming is full of so much beauty. While I showed you their gorgeous session, I wanted to give you a few tips and tricks for planing mountain engagement photos.

This stunning couple plans to get married next summer at the Vee Bar Ranch in Centennial. I took their engagement photos at Vedauwoo in between Cheyenne and Laramie. These two were up for anything, including climbing mountains and hopping through creeks.

Tips for Mountain Engagement Photos

Mountain engagement photos are my absolute favorite. I’d rather be up in the hills than anywhere else, anytime of year. There are a couple things to think about if you’re interested in taking your engagement photos in the mountains near Cheyenne or Laramie.

The first is weather and time of year. Ola and Patrick booked their wedding with us early last summer, so we had plenty of time to book their fall engagement session. Fall and summer sessions go extremely fast, so make sure you get in touch early if you want to capture fall color and warmer temps.

Practical Shoes!

The second thing to remember is to bring some shoes you can walk in. For most mountain engagements, we will wander and hike quite a bit. While it appears that Ola bouldered around Vedauwoo in her heels (she actually did for a bit….I would have broken my face, I’m quite sure), we did most of our walking and hiking in tennis shoes. Don’t try to navigate all the terrain in shoes that make you risk twisting your ankles. We can sit down and take a couple minutes to change shoes here and there. Some brides opt to stand barefoot in trickier places, and I love that look as well.

While we are on this subject of shoes, there are some shoes that just don’t work, even for short stints, during mountain sessions. Wedges and chunky heels are fine. Boots are awesome. Stilettos and kitten heels will not work. You will be sinking into dirt and grass all night. Skip them all together for mountain sessions, or mountain weddings, for that matter!

Clothing Ideas for Mountain Sessions

Let’s move onto clothing. I loved the color of Ola’s dress in this setting. That burnt orange offset the greens and neutrals of the rocks perfectly. Other colors that are perfect for fall mountain photo sessions are burgundy, emerald green, and navy or slate blue. Ola’s dress was also a great length for engagement photos. I love longer dresses because they move well in the wind; they swirl around your feet rather than getting caught in the breeze and flying up. Another beautiful engagement dress from a session last year can be seen here.

Ola and Patrick also brought casual outfits. I always allow time for an outfit change during engagement sessions, and I usually encourage couples to make at least one of their outfits casual. Sweaters, button downs, and jeans all work well. Stay within a neutral or earthy palette for fall photos, and avoid matching completely. The idea is to coordinate rather than totally match.

Let’s Get Messy

And lastly, it might go without saying that I will put you in places that you might get a little dirty. We hike, climb rocks, skip across creeks and sit in the grass and dirt. I’m guessing if you’ve made it this far in this post, you’re probably not the type of person who is afraid of a little dirt, though. 😉 Our couples love being in the mountains as much as we do.

Ola and Patrick, thank you for spending a beautiful evening at Vedawuoo with me for your engagement photos. I am so honored to be the one to photograph your big day next year! Congratulations to you both!