Our Favorite St. Louis Engagement Session Locations! (And why we love to do them!)
St. Louis Wedding Photographers
One of the most import aspects of relationship building between Rosalie, myself, and the couples that we work with is the engagement session. In between booking a wedding photographer and actually doing the thing on the big day, we love getting to capture an engagement session. Unless you’re using photos for save the dates, planning an engagement session may not be the first thing on your mind. But for us, this type of shoot allows Rosalie and I to meet our you, get comfortable, and create some amazing work together! There is definitely an advantage to meeting up and working together before the wedding day. For many of our couples it may be the first time they have ever been professionally photographed. (Like… 99% of our couples have never had their photos taken before.) Getting comfortable with us and being in front of the camera before your wedding day does quite a bit of nerve calming. When the day you say “I do!” rolls around we’ll be old pals! Photographing you also gives us a chance to perfect how we’ll be photographing you in the future. We look out for things like posture and are better acquainted with they dynamic you both share. We can photograph your love more authentically if we have a chance to study it before hand.
Now, let us tell you why we love St. Louis for engagements. (A lot of our couples travel to Missouri for their engagement session!) St. Louis’ diverse assortment of neighborhoods and architecture lends itself quite well to a photographer’s constant search for new and interesting sites for shoots. A number of city parks offer natural landscapes and colorful backdrops while city streets and public university campuses create the perfect place to get modern and classy photos when the colder months set in, leaving Missouri colorless and bare. Both the city and the surrounding suburbs have so much to offer when planning an engagement photo shoot. Here are some of our favorite places to shoot in and within 1.5 hours of St. Louis.
1. Lafayette Park
Hands down the prettiest park in St. Louis. Lafayette park is the definition of magic. With wooded groves, wide open spaces, and a bridge overlooking a dreamy pond below, you really can’t go wrong. We find ourselves coming back to this place over and over again because it really is the best. From spring to fall, Lafayette Park takes us by surprise with its beauty. There are also resident ducklings and two swans that live on the pond and Rosalie says hello to them every opportunity she gets. Outside of the park on the square, there are charming homes that are perfect for sidewalk and street photos. We never miss a chance to walk one of our favorite neighborhoods with our couples.
2. WashU
The Campus of Washington University is amazing through the seasons. The architecture makes for interesting and artistic photos no matter what time of year it is. We have a personal favorite time to visit and that is in November when a lane of ginkgo tree are bright, bright yellow. It’s like something out of a movie.
3. Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
(This is also on our best wedding venues in St. Louis journal entry! You can read that here.) Like WashU, CAM is a year round engagement session location. There are indoor ad outdoor areas to explore, and as long as you call ahead, you can have your photos taken indoors.
4. Central West End
Adorable streets, shopping areas, and of course, Jeni’s Ice Cream! If you love the feel of the movie “You’ve Got Mail”, you’ll love taking your photos in Central West End.
5. Forest Park
It’s basically St. Louis Central Park! 1300 Acres of endless photo spots. Our two personal favorites are Art Hill and the gardens along the Jewel Box. We’re dying to shoot an engagement session that We know, we know! It’s very popular. It is also very easy to be creative and make it look new in photographs.
6. Kiener Plaza
This area in the city has a perfect view of the St. Louis Arch if you’re wanting to include it in your engagement photos. It’s also a short distance from the City Garden Sculpture Park
7. Castlewood State Park
Beautiful wooded areas, streams, and a short hike that leads to a stunning overlook! Every time we photograph a couple here, I wish that we could bring our dogs. So if you want to include your pup’s in your photos, this is a great place to do it. Very dog friendly!
8. Weldon Spring Conservation Area
Easily one of the coolest engagement session locations for couples who want photos are out in nature, but also want artistic photos. This site is a WWII site where they made munitions. Since then the area has been cleaned and decontaminated, so it’s perfectly safe and also extremely cool.
9. Klondike Park
This former silica sand quarry gives couples a water front and stone setting for their engagement photos. Located just 45 minutes outside of St. Louis, this park is for the outdoor lovers!
10. Elephant Rock State Park
An hour and a half out side of St. Louis, is a collection of huge boulders that are named appropriately because they are the size of elephants and larger! Sweeping views over the Mark Twain National Forest, an easy paved hike, and a water filled quarry. When you’re among the rocks, you’ll have to keep reminding yourself that you are indeed in Missouri. It’s wild!
