How to prepare For Your Engagement Session at a State Park | Minnesota State Park Wedding Photographer | MW Photography

How To Prepare For Your Engagement Session at a State Park

I love exploring my local State Parks in Minnesota and I think your love of the outdoors brought you here too! So much that you are now looking into having your engagement photos at you favorite state park! I have a couple of tips to help make your state park engagement photography a better experience as you plan! Some of these tips are for before hand and some tips for the session it helps!
Here we go.

Check the website to make sure the park is open.

Just imagine, after being excited to plan your adventure session in your beautiful local state park you get there to closed signs and ropes between you and your dream photos. This disappointment is the last thing you want! It can be simply avoided by checking the website or calling ahead for any trail closures. Speaking of checking the website……

Check the website to see if a photography permit is required.

As photography has blown up in a good way many locations even in the great outdoors are charging a permit fee to have your photos there. The rangers will ask and will give a big fine if you are caught without your permit. Check permit requirements as early as possible as most take up to 2 weeks or more to process your request or charge more for expedited requests. Don’t let this ruin your session on the day of. Get your permit. Another permit that will most likely be needed is a park pass sticker for your car while you are there. Most of the time they are $7 a day or $30-$ 35 for the year. Check your state park website for admission prices.

Wear the right shoes

Wear shoes that won’t have you cursing the day you were born. Many girls see Instagram models in their high-heels and think that is the way to go. This is a mistake for the great outdoors! Wearing the right shoes for the journey will make all the difference and save your feet from a world of hurt for the next couple of days. An easy alternative is pack the cute shoes in a hiking backpack to change once you get to your destination! Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Plan your timeline with estimated hiking time.

Some trails in your State Parks are longer than others. If you have specific spots in mind it may take some time to get to those spots! Definitely plan on adding that time to your schedule so you have a realistic timeline while planning your state park adventure! A good resource to help with this is a website like alltrails.com that shows trail’s intensity and length.

Bring plenty of food and water.

Adventuring in your local State Park is SO much fun, but can take a lot out of you! Bringing water and snacks will keep your energy levels and spirits high so you can enjoy your experience to the fullest. Your photographer wants you to be happy! Food and hydration will help with that! Good trail snacks are nuts, packed fruits, and veggies. (And some celebratory bubbly wouldn’t hurt!)

Don’t forget to bring your spirit of adventure.

Have fun, enjoy the beauty around you!!! Bring a fun date idea that you and your fiance can enjoy along the way like a picnic or a favorite hobby you can do together. If you both are having a good time, your photos will reflect that!

I hope this helps bring you an amazing state park engagement session experience!

Happy Adventuring!

Looking for more inspiration for your future state park adventure?
Check out by clicking these outdoor engagement sessions to inspire your own adventure!!
Becca & Scott | Christian & Emily | Sara & Isaac | Bailey & Michaila

You can also check out Must See Spots along Minnesota’s North Shore HERE for future planning Up North!

Where To Start Rescheduling Your Wedding Due to Corona Virus | Minneapolis Wedding Photography | MW Photography

Making the hard choices

To brides struggling with the decision of postponing your dream wedding due to Corona Virus,

First off I want to say I am so sorry you have to go through this. You have planned months and maybe even years for this day. Your desire to make it perfect drove every decision from the white dress to every place setting. This sucks and there is no way around it. Just know your wedding community is feeling it too; your vendors want to help as much as they can.

If you are the bride who has decided to postpone your wedding day due to the Covid-19, these are a couple of the beginning steps to help regarding your vendors.

1st reach out to your venue.  Ask your venue what days they have open to reschedule. In all honesty, you may need to be open to booking a week day. A lot of brides book from August to Oct; open weekends at your venue might be low due to the popularity of your venue. A small bright side to this is many venues offer weekday discounts! Normally changing your date would have financial charges, but this is not a normal circumstance! Ask your venue if you can transfer your deposit to a new day with no additional charge. Be courageous; ask ALL the questions.

When you have the new date established, it is time to see if your other vendors are available. Prioritize this by your vendors you know you can't do your day without. Prepare your heart that they might not all be available. If that is the case, ask them for recommendations for who could take their place in your wedding day. Don’t attack that business for not having your new day available . Trust me when I say your wedding vendors are doing the best they can to make you happy.

Most of your vendors will have a non refundable deposit clause in their contract, due to the extreme nature of the change, I do not think you would be out of place asking for a full refund. Prepare to be rejected by this request but you will not know if you do not ask. Be as kind as possible. Everyone is feeling the strain on this and from an insiders opinion people are willing to work with you more when you approach this type of situation with kindness and grace.

To the brides who are heart broken because your day has special meaning- my honest suggestion is to elope in your state. I know how special a day can be. Save your new date for celebration of your marriage when it is safe for everyone to be there. Contact your photographer, officiant, and Florist immediately for this request. It will be a very intimate wedding day experience that will allow you to keep your special day. Make sure your current vendors would still be open to doing this with you. Most will, some won’t as they are trying to protect their families from the virus. Again, I say be kind and ask for any recommendations they may have if you decided to go this route.

Check your locate government website to see what is open and what is allowed during this uncertain time.

Here is a Link to Minnesota’s Health Department Website: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html

I truly hope this was helpful. Know I am praying for you during this time.
Warmly,
-Molly

I Am Now Offering Heirloom Wedding Albums For My MW Wedding Couples! | MW Photography | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

WOW!

For a long time I wanted to give something after the wedding that all my couples could hold in their hands and enjoy in their chair by the window with a cup of hot coffee and relive their wedding day over and over.

I am a FIRM believer that all my couples should have prints of their weddings/engagement in a world that is so digital. I wanted to be able to provide a service to make that happen for each and everyone of you!

I now officially offer heirloom wedding albums for all my wedding couples! YAY!! If this is something you are thinking about for your lives please feel free to reach out and inquire about it for your wedding package!