Nothing Compares to the Iowa State Fair
When Effie and Kenny started planning engagement photos, there wasn't a second thought where we'd go. One of their first dates at the Iowa State Fair back in 2019, watching live music late into the night. And as someone who has lived in Des Moines almost all her life and has visited the State Fair at least twice a year since she was born, you can bet I had "take photos at the Iowa State Fair" on my bucket list. So I was quick to grab my gear and my hand sanitizer—because you KNOW we're going to be petting baby cows and big ol' horses between fried food on sticks.
We started the evening at Bellhop Tiki Bar in the East Village, another favorite date-night spot for these two. Since Bellhop is so close to the Capitol DART State Fair shuttle—free to park at several convenient locations and only $3 to ride round trip!—we sipped some pre-game tiki drink before the main event.
But, of course, the real show stopper was the Fair. The second we got off the shuttle Effie and I squealed like kids before figuring out our plan of attack. We spent hours running around, eating food, looking at cute animals, and reminiscing. Highlights from the evening include:
- Cheese curds from Brad & Harry’s
- Dill pickle beer from the Bird's Nest, courtesy of Barn Town Brewing
- Riding the Sky Glider into the sunset
- Playing Midway carnival games (and winning the cutest pink giraffe)
- Adopting a small cow statue as part of Effie & Kenny's new family
- Telling ourselves we were done for the night...then stopping for a cup of Barksdale's cookies
Using a favorite date as inspiration for your engagement photos is always a really special way to relive memories while making new ones. Add in some cheese curds and you have yourself a real winner. I can't wait to go back to the Fair next year knowing it'll spark so many memories from the evening spent with Effie and Kenny.
