Engagement Session Locations

Christina
Apr 19, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Sep 29

Selecting a location for your engagement session can be challenging and overwhelming. Here are some suggestions to help you narrow down your choices.

Your wedding venue. Some venues allow you to have your engagement session there if you've booked them for your wedding. This can be beneficial for both you and your photographer, providing an opportunity to scout the location before the big day.
Private property owned by you, a friend, or a family member. Do you know someone with a beautiful farm or lake on their property that you've always admired? Let's use it! Some of my favorite sessions have taken place on private property.
Your first date location or another place that holds special significance to your relationship.
A public park or urban area. I've listed my favorites below, along with images from sessions I have photographed there. If you find a location you like, you can also search the park or area name followed by "engagement session" on Google to discover more images and inspiration for your session.

St. Louis

Lafayette Park- 2023 Lafayette Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104

Lafayette Park is gorgeous in the spring, and summer when all of the trees are green and the flowers are in bloom. It's also beautiful in the fall as the leaves begin to turn as well. I would not recommend Lafayette for winter or very early spring when the trees are still bare.

Missouri Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens offer a romantic and enchanting setting for an engagement session. This location is a favorite among St. Louis Wedding Photographers. While there is an admission fee, it is absolutely worth the cost.

Forest Park

Forest Park is an expansive area with plenty of visual appeal, even when the trees and flowers aren't blooming.

The Emerson Grand Basin area features stunning white stone walls, water fountains, bridges, and Art Hill with the Art Museum as a backdrop. It also includes a lovely open field adjacent to it, with large weeping willow trees at each corner.

The Muny area showcases the large globe chandelier with white pillars lining one side of the walkway at the Muny entrance, the Pagoda Circle, and Nathan Frank Bandstand, which is a stone gazebo situated on a tiny island in the middle of a small lake.

The World's Fair Pavilion Area boasts the iconic arched pavilion overlooking Government Hill, the boathouse, and tree-lined walkways that are ideal for engagement sessions.

The Jewel Box-the intersection of Wells and McKinley Drives in St. Louis, MO.

The Jewel Box is technically part of Forest Park but it has so many of it's own sub-areas that I thought it best to give it a separate listing. The gorgeous flowering trees, tulip gardens, and water features make it an excellent choice for your session.