When should we schedule our engagement session?

9–12 months before the wedding — early enough to use the photos for save-the-dates and your wedding website.

How long is an engagement session and how many photos do we get?

Most sessions run 60–90 minutes at one or two nearby spots, delivering a full edited gallery — not a handful of selects.

Can we bring our dog to the engagement session?

Please do. Bring a leash, treats, and a friend who can dog-wrangle between shots.

Is an engagement session included with wedding collections?

It can be added to any collection or booked on its own — couples who book photography and video together usually add it at a reduced rate. Exact numbers are confirmed on your first call.

What if we are awkward in front of a camera?

Everyone says that. We direct with prompts and movement, not stiff poses — by the second outfit you will forget the camera is there.

Vow Renewal Photographer

2,200+ couples photographed · 35+ national awards · 350+ five-star reviews — Cinematic on Film

A vow renewal is a celebration of a marriage that is already working — which means it can be exactly as big, small, or unconventional as you want. Lulan Studio photographs vow renewals across Los Angeles with the same editorial, film-inspired style as our weddings, whether you are marking a milestone anniversary, formalizing a courthouse marriage with the ceremony you always wanted, or simply looking for an excuse to get dressed up and celebrate each other again. It is a similar spirit to the one behind our proposal photography — marking a genuine, unrepeatable relationship milestone rather than checking a box.

What Makes a Vow Renewal Different From a Wedding

A vow renewal carries none of the logistical pressure of a first wedding. There is no processional to get exactly right, no seating chart politics, and usually a much shorter guest list — often just close family, or sometimes no guests at all. That lower-pressure setting tends to produce more relaxed, genuine photographs: couples who have been through a real wedding once already tend to spend less time performing for the camera and more time actually enjoying the day.

Popular Ways Couples Celebrate

Every couple’s reasons are a little different. For more real examples, browse our blog for wedding and celebration stories from couples who have celebrated with us.

Milestone anniversaries. Five, ten, twenty-five, fifty years — round-number anniversaries are the most common reason couples renew their vows, often with the same wedding party or their now-grown children standing in.
Elopement-style ceremonies. A small, private ceremony with just the couple (and maybe a witness or two) at a favorite location, followed by a portrait session.
Backyard or destination settings. Many couples renew vows somewhere that means something to them personally rather than a traditional venue — a backyard, a favorite restaurant, a trip to the place they honeymooned.
Reaffirming after a hard season. Some couples choose a vow renewal after a period of difficulty, illness, or distance, and want photographs that reflect where they are now rather than where they started.

What's Included

A typical vow renewal session includes a planning call to talk through your ceremony format and timeline, coverage of the ceremony itself, and portraits of the two of you (and family, if they are there) afterward. Turnaround on your edited gallery runs 4–8 weeks, the same as our wedding collections. Because vow renewals vary so widely in scale, coverage can be booked as a short session or a fuller day — see our rates and packages for the closest match to what you are planning, and we will confirm exact details on your first call.

Vow Renewal Photography FAQ

How is this different from booking an anniversary photo session? An anniversary session is typically a portrait shoot — no ceremony involved. A vow renewal includes an actual ceremony, even an informal one, which we photograph the same way we would a wedding ceremony: officiant, vows, rings, and the moment itself, plus portraits afterward.

Do we need an officiant? Not necessarily. Some couples have a friend or family member say a few words, some hire a real officiant, and some simply read vows to each other with no one presiding. All of these photograph beautifully — tell us your format and we will plan coverage around it.

How small can this be? As small as you like. Some of our favorite vow renewals have been just the couple, with no guests at all — closer in spirit to an elopement than a wedding, but marking a different kind of milestone.

How do we check your availability? Inquire availability or schedule a call — we respond within minutes.

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