St. Albert Botanic Park Engagement Session
Engagement sessions are perfect for getting to know your photographer more, practice being in front of the camera yourselves, and having a really unforgettable date night! I really can’t recommend them enough, which is why they’re included in two of my 10+ hour wedding collections. There really is so much value in spending time with your photographer before your wedding day. By the time the wedding day rolls around, you’re more relaxed because you’ve already experienced how I work and we’ve gotten to know each other, so it’s not like I’m a complete stranger showing up on your wedding morning! It really does give you peace of mind.
For Natasha and Shawn’s engagement session, they wanted to play off the ‘garden’ theme of their wedding, so we chose the St. Albert Botanic Park! We had the entire place to ourselves due to heavier wildfire smoke in the area at the time, but it cleared enough to make it a beautiful moody evening strolling around the garden. It truly felt like we were old friends catching up after a lot of time had passed - we discussed all of our favourite shows, books and video games (Baldur’s Gate 3 had just come out and we were so excited) and time really just flew by!
Why St. Albert Botanic Park is the perfect place for your Engagement Session
Celebrate your engagement among the fragrant blooms
Nestled right in the heart of St. Albert, the St.Albert Botanic Park is a beautiful little oasis to seek quiet and maybe even a bit of garden inspiration! If you enjoy being in nature and admiring beautiful flowers, but don’t want to stray too far outside of the city, the Botanic Park is perfect. The park is cared for entirely by volunteers and summer employees and is a living testament to passion bringing people together. Paths wind through the garden, letting you admire a variety of plants and flowers (the roses are my favourite), and the centre of the garden is home to a beautiful running water fountain. It’s such a relaxing atmosphere, especially if you love being outdoors!
Currently at the time of writing, the Botanic Park requires engagement sessions to be scheduled in advance to avoid booking conflicts. Sessions must be booked on weekdays from June through September, as summer weekends are reserved for wedding bookings.
Ways to make your engagement session more than just pretty photos
When it comes to your engagement session, you want really gorgeous images that you can treasure forever and also use for things like invites, save the dates, and wedding websites. So it can be really easy to think that your images just need to be visually gorgeous, but I beg all of my couples to rethink that and focus on an experience that will not only result in beautiful visual art, but also reflect the two of you in an authentic way and allow you to have a damn good time doing it, too!
Pick an activity to do together
If being in front of the camera does not come naturally to the two of you, I can’t recommend this enough - having something to distract you and do with your hands (why is it always the hands?!) will make a world of difference and take your mind off of the fact that you’re being photographed. You can:
• pack a picnic and some champagne to toast with
• pick a hobby that the two of you share and do it together, either in a public space or the privacy of your own home (eg. a cooking class, pottery, painting, playing music together, baking, playing board games, etc.)
• if you have fur babies, let’s take them for a walk!
• relax in your backyard with a kiddie pool and some beers
• recreate your first date (or a part of it)
• visit your favourite coffee shop or restaurant
• have a movie night in at home
Write notes to each other or exchange gifts
Natasha wanted to surprise Shawn with another ring! Knowing Shawn likes accessories and how excited he was to wear his wedding band, she surprised him with an extra band that matches the set that was custom made for her. She wrote him a card, which she read aloud to him during our session (while I captured photos at a distance!) before he opened his gift. The look on his face really says it all! Writing and reading notes to each other is a nice way to focus the session on your relationship and create some really emotional images that you’ll be able to look back on!
Wear clothes that you would normally wear
A lot of people think you have to get really dressed up and go all out for your engagement session but that’s not always the case. It’s honestly way more important that you feel comfortable above all else. If you feel uncomfortable in what you’re wearing - whether that’s something that you don’t normally wear, a garment that doesn’t fit right, or something that is made from an uncomfortable material - then you are going to feel uncomfortable while having your photos taken, and most likely be unhappy with the results. For example, I would never suggest that someone that hates wearing tight clothes show up in a body con dress. Yes, you can dress up, but still be within the realms of what you gravitate to on a regular basis!
In Shawn’s case, he is a teacher and it’s totally in line with his personality to wear outfits like this! I love his attention to details here: the cream contrasts so nicely with the burgundy jacket and pants, which in turn pops against the greenery of the location they chose, and Natasha’s white dress! His shoes are nicely coordinated with his other accessories, yet opting to go without a tie lends an air of casualness. Wearing the vest under the jacket provides visual interest with layering pieces.
While Natasha arranged to have her makeup trial on a different day and did her own makeup for her session, her hair was done by Courtney Green for her wedding hair trial! Feeling pampered by professionals goes a long way with making you feel comfortable, confident and ready to be photographed. The pop of red lipstick is fun and playful (just like Natasha herself!) and the colour is repeated with the red of her heels.
Natasha and Shawn also wanted to use their engagement session as an opportunity to test drive their big recessional surprise that they were hoping to use on their wedding day. This ‘confetti’ is extremely eco-friendly - it’s bundles of tissue paper that are tightly rolled, and remain bound in a paper bundle. This way, they can be tossed up in the air and still stay together to make cleaning up easy and quick - ensuring that the paper does not remain in the environment!
Whatever you choose to do for your engagement session, I hope you find some of these tips and ideas helpful for you! Looking for a photographer for your engagement or wedding? I’d love to chat with you!
