22 Ideas for an Awesome Engagement Session
You’re getting married - congratulations!!! Engagement sessions are a fun way to celebrate this exciting time and to get to know your wedding photographer! And nothing beats choosing a location that is totally you. Some popular ideas are taking photos where you met or got engaged, but there are lots of options! Here are 22 ideas for an awesome session:
1) Get dramatic with some nighttime photos
Love the nightlife together? Start your session shortly before sunset to bring some moody vibes to your pictures! Creative lighting and silhouettes add even more artistic flair to your session.
These nighttime shots were taken at Virmond Park in Mequon, Seven Bridges in South Milwaukee, and the French Quarter in NOLA.
2) Get some pictures where you love to spend time together
Your favorite restaurant, bookshop or brewery are all great spots to make some more memories at your engagement session!
Lake Park Bistro, Lakefront Brewery and Boswell Books were these couple’s favorite spots!
3) Let loose and get in the water
If you love spending time in the water together, nothing says romance like making some waves of your own! Add some champagne and a sunset to the mix, and you’ll have one memorable engagement session.
These candid engagement photos were taken at Bradford Beach!
4) Showcase your favorite spots in Bay View
A neighborhood as creative as Bay View is sure to inspire! Its historic architecture, artistic murals and awesome vibes will bring an edge to your engagement portraits.
5) Include your furry family members
We know that your pets are a big part of your relationship, too! While they often times can’t make it to the wedding, they are always welcome at your engagement session.
These photos were part of a surprise proposal! She said yes!!!
6) Snuggle in at home
If you two are homebodies, just purchased a new home, or your favorite way of celebrating is at home with a glass of wine, a session at your place - in your element - is just the spot!
7) Get romantic at one of your favorite Milwaukee County Parks
We’re lucky to have so many awesome county parks! Whether you’d like input on the most photo-friendly spots, or you have a favorite park where you regularly go for walks together, the scenery, ponds, waterfalls and lake views give plenty of amazing options. Or if you’re not a Milwaukeean, there’s an abundance of stunning Wisconsin State Parks to explore together!
Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum at Riverside Park (by the Urban Ecology Center), Brown Deer Park, and Whitnall Park all made gorgeous locations for these sessions!
8) Take a stroll down Black Cat Alley
Milwaukee is full of fantastic murals, and there’s a big collection of them - like a gallery! - in Black Cat Alley on MKE’s east side. Find your favorite murals and get some creative pictures among the artwork.
9) Show off one of your favorite hobbies
From figure skating, to bringing out the point shoes, to sailing on Lake Michigan, incorporating your hobbies is always a blast! What better way to showcase who you are as a couple? Or if you like to play games (boardgames, pool, cribbage or corn hole…), a little competition is sure to bring some laughs for those sweet candid photos!
We met up at the Milwaukee Yacht Club before setting sail with these lovebirds!
10) Capture your love of downtown
When city life is a big part of who you are, incorporating the awesome cityscapes, architecture and public art is a must! Scheduling your session during golden hour and finishing with nighttime photos among the city lights is the perfect combo.
11) Show off your passions
From Bugle Corps, to wine tastings, to flying a plane, to visiting Camp Randall, American Family Field, Fiserv Forum and Lambeau, your passions are always fun to include in your engagement pictures! You’ve found a partner whose as passionate as you are, and it’s awesome to preserve that in professional portraits.
12) If you love to travel, book a Destination Engagement Session
From San Francisco, Riviera Maya, Washington DC, the mountains in North Carolina, New Orleans, to Napa Valley and beyond, we’re always happy to travel wherever your love takes you. If part of your story is in another city, state, or even country, let’s plan a trip there! Sometimes our couples have a destination engagement session and their wedding in Wisconsin, and other times they get married elsewhere and their engagement pictures are here. And sometimes their destination wedding brings them to WI! It’s great having the same photographer for both engagement + wedding milestones, no matter the location.
13) Get steamy on the beach
Living in a state that borders Lake Michigan is such a luxury! Showcase the “Third Coast” with beachy vibes during your session. Feel free to bust out those sand castle skills!
Grant Park Beach, South Shore Park and Doctors Park (in Fox Point) are some of our favorite beaches.
14) Mosey along the Milwaukee RiverWalk or your favorite urban trail
Nature trails are always gorgeous, but let’s not forget about the scenic urban trails MKE has to offer! Wherever you love walking and exploring together, photos there can really capture this chapter of your lives. Hey, remember that Mountain Destination Wedding we shared earlier? Here are their engagement photos! It was really important for them to have a photographer they felt comfortable with, and we truly enjoyed getting to know and traveling with this sweet duo.
The Oak Leaf Trail and Beerline Trail both offered stunning views at this session.
15) Let your love blossom in a prairie
The wildflowers blooming Spring through Fall make for gorgeous, rustic pictures! Your favorite nature preserve will capture your love paired with the outdoors perfectly. If you’re interested in learning more about visiting natural areas with minimal impact to the environment, check out these 7 Principles from Leave No Trace.
16) Make memories in the Third Ward
Whether having lunch at the Public Market, strolling along the RiverWalk, sitting outside for some live music, taking in the art scene, or enjoying a bar (like Points East Pub below) or restaurant, pictures in the Third Ward can showcase your favorite Friday nights or Sunday afternoons.
17) Connect with nature during a woodsy session
Listening to the birds and the breeze through the trees while smooching on a quiet trail really sets the tone for some intimate photos! Not sure where to go? Get in touch with us and we’re happy to share our favorite spots in Southeastern Wisconsin.
18) Wander around Wauwatosa
Whether the historic Village with all its charm or Tosa’s scenic parks, this popular MKE suburb has lots to choose from for an engagement session location. If you haven’t been there for events like Art 64 you’re missing out!
Hoyt Park and the adorable bridge by Café Hollander - complete with string lights - made eye-catching locations for these sessions!
19) Star in your own Rom-Com on a picturesque bridge
With the beauty of leading lines, the drama of contrast, and the scenic views, engagement shots on a bridge are swoon-worthy!
Left top: Seven Bridges, Left middle: Riverside Park, Left bottom: Brown Deer Park, Right: the Marsupial Bridge/Holton Street Bridge
20) Walk around Walker’s Point
With lots of murals, historic architecture and the Sixth Street Bridge, there are endless places to explore in Walker’s Point, which also has a rich LGBTQ+ history and nightlife as well as top notch Mexican restaurants among a rich foodie scene. One of our many favorite spots in WP is the Iron Horse Hotel- they have an amazing outdoor patio with great food and drink to keep you smiling!
Bottom Photo: the Iron Horse Hotel
21) Toast to your future
Beer, coffee, champagne, tea, wine or a mocktail… whatever beverage you choose is perfect to say cheers to your upcoming wedding!
Colectivo Coffee at The Foundry and Lake Park Bistro are just a couple of great places to unwind together during your engagement photoshoot.
22) Visit your favorite museum
Capture the cityscape with the Milwaukee Art Museum in the background, or visit one of your other fave museums together during your session. It’ll be fun to see how a professional photographer can bring out your personalities in your favorite places!
Top left: MAM, Bottom left: Puelicher Butterfly Wing at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Right: Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. Definitely recommend one of these inspiring outings together!
You might notice different vibes and personalities in all these photos, and that everyone looks comfortable in their pictures! We love getting to know you and reflecting your relationship in your portraits. We don’t take a cookie cutter approach of certain poses, but instead pay attention to you two as a couple, your vibe and how you interact with each other. We have fun with you and help you feel comfortable with being in front of the camera, and you’ll be able to look at your photos and remember just how you felt when you were engaged and planning your wedding ❤️
We’d love to get to know you, share our wedding tips with you, and photograph your engagement photos! Click here to check out our wedding galleries or the button below to get the conversation started…