Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary for your Engagement Session

Today, I will come back to this engagement session which took place in a Saint Paul Nature Sanctuary. It is actually the first part of the photo session that we have split into two. The second part of this photo shoot will guide us on the paved road of the Saint Paul State Capitol. Then, the newly engaged couple will wait a couple of months to see me again when they get married at the Saint Paul Athletic Club. So, I am quite sure you have never heard about the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in Saint Paul, me neither. Yet, it is where the pictures have been captured.

A Nature Sanctuary, a Great Place for Engagement Sessions in Saint Paul

When the bride and groom first proposed this place for their photo session, I went to scout it on Google. Let’s be honest, my excitement was not very obvious. That said, they are Saint Paul’s “weird” residents living close to the park (and I am not speaking about the Dayton’s Bluff district or students of the University). Therefore, I let them guide me to this area with its trails located under the highway. Today I confess that it’s one of the best parks I have seen in Saint Paul and here is why:

• it’s pretty unknown by tourists (Dayton’s Bluff and even students of the university)
• it’s accessible and just a mile from Downtown on E. Kellogg Boulevard
• it offers a variety of landscapes in the same place such as a huge highway bridge to take pictures under, access to the train railroads, a scenic view of the city skyline, a nature reserve with wildlife prairies and meadows, some woods, several hiking trails surrounded by wildflowers and access to the Mississippi River
• it doesn’t require any permit to take photos

Quite Similar to Boom Island

If you love The Boom Island Park (Minneapolis, MN) with its view of the Twin Cities, then you should love the Vento Nature Sanctuary. Indeed, they both share similarities:

• a view of the skyscrapers
• a large natural area
• proximity to the Mississippi
• a place used by communities

But, as you can notice, this Nature Sanctuary actually offers more resources and a larger variety of backgrounds!

Connections with the City and the Transportation

The Vento Nature Sanctuary is literally crossed by roads, railways, jogging trails, and water creeks (Phalen Creek). This is a place of connection with communities. You feel immersed in nature (with the sanctuary and the Phalen Creek) and connected to a big city (with the highway’s bridge). That gives this location both modern and natural aspects, urban and wild areas, which is pretty rare!

A Location Carrying History

At the entrance of the park, visitors can discover the history behind this exquisite place through displays conducted by a state organization. Indeed, next time you go for a picnic or for a hike, I invite you to read the Ramsey County panels. It was a Native American significant location for the Dakota tribe, who used to use the lands before they were destroyed by the European settlers.

The National Park Service Organization website explains that some caves, used by the Dakota tribe, were quarried in the sandstone bluff and have been “recently” discovered. So today, the department of natural resources, the state and the history center are pushing an initiative for restoration and conservation of the park and the national wildlife refuge. Acres of Minnesotan historical heritage are now used by residents for biking, camping, skating and taking photos.

A Not Posed Photo Session in Saint Paul Park

When Emily and Dustin were looking for a wedding photographer in the Cities, or further in Minnesota, to cover their wedding in Minneapolis, they first told me they liked my natural style, and wanted to avoid posed pictures.

This park turns out to be an ideal playground for a romantic photo session. Indeed, when I first met the bride and the groom to be, they told me they weren’t the kind of couple wanting to do cheesy pictures in front of my camera. I reassured them and told them that my way of working was to guide my couples, to make them do fun actions, so they can have fun. In other words, it’s not posed.

You don’t like to pose? Well, as a photographer in Saint Paul, I can testify that most people don’t feel comfortable posing. And I’m fine with that because I prefer to catch spontaneous and candid shots, and these two lovebirds had a lot of them. What I like the most is the complicity between them. They trust each other and manage to be natural in front of the camera. Besides the couple shots, I like to have some creative ones. They managed to be part of the game when I asked them to make silly faces.

To conclude for the first part of the pre-wedding photos, I would say that I was as happy to discover that my couple was getting at ease (promising a good result with their wedding pictures in Saint Paul), as I was to discover this park. The second part of this session will drive us northwest to the capitol! And a couple of months later I will be in one of the most historic venues of St. Paul, MN where I will capture their wedding!