Abby and Anthony got engaged at Carver Park Reserve, so when it came time for engagement photos there was really only one place to shoot them — the same Victoria park where Anthony proposed. We started in the tall-grass meadow about an hour before sunset, when the light goes long and gold, and finished down on the Lake Auburn dock as the water went still. Then they drove off to a cocktail bar to play cribbage and toast a successful session.
What follows is a summer evening at Carver Park — a meadow full of low golden light, a quiet dock with the canoe racks behind it, an oval solitaire that kept catching the sun, and two people who are easy together.
Back to Where He Asked
Carver Park Reserve sits on the west side of the Twin Cities in Victoria — a Three Rivers Park District reserve of grassland, woods, and a handful of lakes. It's where Anthony proposed, so it's where we shot the engagement session. There's something steadying about photographing a couple in the place a story actually happened; nobody has to manufacture the feeling, it's already in the ground. When we stepped into the first frames I walked them through where to stand and what to do with their hands — most couples haven't spent much time in front of a camera, and a few minutes of direction is usually all it takes before they forget I'm there.
Golden Hour in the Meadow
The first half of the evening was in the waist-high grass with the tree line behind them — Abby in a white eyelet dress, Anthony in a soft grey polo, the sun dropping low enough to rim-light the whole field. Most of it was just letting them be close: foreheads together, a hand at the back of his neck with the ring sitting right there in frame, the kind of laughing you can't direct and wouldn't want to. At one point Anthony spun her by the hand and the dress caught the light; a few frames later they were just walking, fingers linked, looking at each other instead of at me.
Put two people somewhere that actually means something to them, give them a little direction, then stay out of the way once they settle in. Carver Park did half the work.
Down to Lake Auburn
As the sun got lower we moved down to the water. Lake Auburn has a long sectional dock and a rack of canoes at the landing — not a manicured resort dock, just a quiet public lake going glassy at the end of the day. Abby and Anthony changed into something more casual — a white tank, a white tee, jeans — kicked their shoes off at the edge and sat with their feet over the water. Then Anthony lifted her clean off the dock and she laughed out across the lake.
We used the canoe rack, too — a stack of overturned aluminum hulls makes a better backdrop than it has any right to. The light by then was the soft, low kind that flatters everything, and the lake behind them had gone mirror-flat. It's the part of the evening where a session stops feeling like a session and just becomes two people on a dock who don't particularly want to leave.
Cribbage and Cocktails to Celebrate
After we wrapped, Abby and Anthony headed to a local cocktail bar to celebrate a session well done — a long wooden cribbage board on the table, an amber cocktail in a little wooden barrel, a tall red one with an orange slice. It's the right way to end an engagement shoot: go somewhere good, sit down, and play a hand.
Planning an Engagement Session?
A few things make an engagement session work: pick a place that means something — the spot where you got engaged is hard to beat — go at golden hour, and don't overthink the clothes, since one slightly dressed-up look and one casual one covers it. If it's a Three Rivers park like Carver Park, the photographer needs a photography pass and a reservation; I take care of that part so you don't have to.
I'm based in the Brainerd Lakes, but I travel — Carver Park is a Twin Cities engagement, and I photograph couples across Minnesota. There's a family thread in this one, too: Anthony grew up in the parish at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby — the same church I go to — and he and Abby are hoping to say their vows in the parish's brand-new church. I photographed his niece Madeline's New Year's Eve wedding a couple of winters back, so getting to photograph this family again has been a gift. If you're planning an engagement session or a wedding, reach out — I take a limited number each year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Carver Park Reserve is part of the Three Rivers Park District, and any paid photographer working in their parks needs a professional photography pass — annual or hourly — plus a reservation, both arranged at least two weeks ahead. I carry the pass and handle the reservation, so it's not something the couple has to think about. The only on-the-day rules worth knowing: stay on designated trails and skip large props or furniture.
The last hour before sunset. Both spots we used — the tall-grass meadow and the Lake Auburn dock — open to the west, so in summer the light comes in low and gold across the grass and then goes soft and still on the water. We started Abby and Anthony's session around 6 p.m. and worked toward sunset, meadow first, lake last.
If the spot is photogenic, it's hard to beat. Abby and Anthony got engaged at Carver Park, so that's where we shot — and there's a steadiness to photographing people in the place a real moment happened. You don't have to manufacture the feeling; it's already there. When we move into portraits I'll tell you exactly where to stand and what to do with your hands, so even couples who haven't been in front of a camera much settle in fast.
Yes. I'm based in the Brainerd Lakes but I photograph couples across Minnesota, and Carver Park in Victoria is a Twin Cities–metro session. If you're planning an engagement shoot or a wedding in the west metro, travel from the lakes is built into how I work.
