How to Prepare For My Minnesota Winter Engagement | Minnesota Engagement Photographer

Tips to Keep Warm for Your Minnesota Winter Engagement Photography Session!

Minnesota in winter is Magical. I am not the first person to think so! I LOVE snow and the whole season is one of my all-time favorites. If you are from the Midwest/ Minnesota, you KNOW it can be SO COLD.

I have some tips for you to make your Minnesota Winter Engagement Session more enjoyable overall!

1) Bring Hand and Feet Warmers - This is the biggest blessing I try to remember ever winter engagement session or wedding. They are so cheap there is no reason not to have an extra one or two packed in your purse for your photos.

2) Dress in Layers - I feel like the biggest advantage Minnesotans have against the harsher winters is knowing how to dress so you are comfortable. This should not be left behind when you are planning your engagement session in the winter months. Many couples have two outfits for their engagement photos. Use a cute winter aesthetic to add in a nice winter hat and gloves to make the time together more enjoyable.

3) Bring on that Coffee - Any hot drinks will feel like a godsend when you are bracing for those cold days. Don’t be afraid to bring a thermos of your favorite hot beverage to warm your soul between photos.

4) Plan a small warming break if possible - Depending on if you are at a local park or in the city, try taking a small break in a local coffee shop or jump in your car to warm your fingers up. There is nothing wrong with taking a small warmup break so you can feel your face again.

5) Bring a cozy blanket to cuddle up in - I love this there is something to cute about cuddling up with your fiance for your photos! This could be just an extra prop to be able to add to the variety of your photos while still keeping you warm!

Bonus!: Really lean into your engagement session being in winter by choose a really fun winter activity like Ice Skating, Skiing, Snow Shoeing, or enjoying a small bonfire together! They photos will be SOOO worth it!

St Olaf Engagement Photography | Alyssa & Geoff | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

We have been emailing back and forth trying to pick the perfect day for this shoot! Canceled once to avoid an even colder day we landed on this past Tuesday ! We knew no one would fall asleep on this shoot because the chill we a good smack in the face! But by looking at Alyssa and Geoff's smiles you can't tell. They trooper through the snow and Minnesota chill to make magic happen! The also brought along for the journey the rambunctious Simba! He was so soft and did a great job chillaxing while we had shot a couple of photos of him. Our shoot was on the hills of St Olaf College where Alyssa and Geoff first met. Being in the same group of friends they have photographic evidence of meeting their freshman year in a human pyramid at a friends game night. It wasn't until a couple of years later they became closer friends. Geoff studying calculus went a semester abroad to Budapest to continue is math learning. They were just friends at this point but Alyssa really began to miss Geoff! Absence really does make the heart grow fonder! When he got back, they both knew this was something more than just good buds reuniting and decided to give them a shot.

It turned out for the better because here they years later planning for their September wedding! But before we get into that Geoff decided to put a ring on it and propose. He knew Alyssa being a true Minnesota girl loves lakes and made a reservation for a dinner that had a killer view. During their meal Geoff received a call from "an angry student." He apologetically took the call while setting the plan motion. Alyssa sat and waited for 30 minutes before receiving a text from Geoff to head for the car. Unbeknownst to her, he had slipped the car keys into her bag. After getting in the car she found a a mason jar with a clue of where to go. 

The clue lead her to a hill and she had a map to lead her. Not great with maps , Alyssa had another clue to lead her. 37 white origami cranes lead her to Geoff who then proposed! Ugh LOVE! 

Cant wait for their wedding later in 2018 and secretly hoping they bring Simba back so I can cuddle with him some more ;).

Lebanon Hills Engagement Photography | Laura & Wesley | St Paul Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

These two meet in high school and reconnect a while later through a mutual friend gathering! Although many people thinks the fireworks were for the Fourth of July celebrations little did they know it was actually Laura and Wesley getting better acquainted that night! Fast-foward to fall of 2015. Welsey brought Laura on a camping trip to one of their parks; it was the same camping site in Lake City they had their very first camping trip!
Wesley decidied that they needed to enjoy a walk, so off they went.  Enjoying their walk they ended up in the same spot that welsey told Laura he loved her; in this same spot Wesley asked Laura to be his wife !

To date one of laura and Wesleys favorite adventures was welcoming their fur baby Thor, a mastiff, into their family! As we started to shoot the engagement session, Thor was pretty excited to be out and about, but we were able to get a couple of nice one of him in!

We enjoy shoot their engagement session at Lebanon Hills Park in Eagan. Although the weather had been warming up we still had a chance go get a couple of photos on the lake!