Is there anything better than a bonfire, a great patio, and some excellent sours?
There is: but it’s just all those things, plus finding the love of your life.
Dani and David shared their first date on the patio at Big Grove in Des Moines, so they wanted to pay homage to their past as celebrate their future together. We planned their engagement photos around the spot where their love story began, but we knew we wanted to create new memories while reliving some old ones. They knew they wanted some somewhat traditional engagement photos, but nothing too stiff. Nothing so formal that they'd risk missing out on goofy, sweet moments and trying something artsy here and there. And of COURSE we'd have to include the star of the family, Murphy, so ensuring his comfort and an environment that wouldn't be too overstimulating for him was key. Luckily, downtown Des Moines has just about anything your heart could desire for engagement backdrops.
We agreed on MacRae Park, the view of downtown and beautiful green space both attractive to Dani as a landscape architect. Dani looked stunning in her flowy dress and we all kept oogling David's retro collard shirt (thanks, Old Navy), but obviously Murphy was the center of attention. I mean, LOOK AT THE GUY. He's so SMOL and so PERFECT. Speaking of perfect, we also had the pleasure of the light shifting throughout the session, giving us contrasty film vibes one minute and colorful, bright scenes the next.
Eventually it was time for sour beers and a walk down memory lane. We hung out on the patio, feet from where David first laid eyes on Dani, and enjoyed time in front of the bonfire as the sun set behind us. It was one of those nights were we kept going, "Okay just one more photo. Okay, just one more spot." But that's kind of like their first date—figuring out how we can make this one moment last as long as possible. And lucky for us, we get to do it all over again at their wedding next year!
Shoutout to Big Grove and their team for being so incredibly kind and accommodating during our session. If you’re looking for a great spot this summer, Big Grove is it y’all. And I’m not just saying that because I would gladly get paid in giant pretzels from there. (But I would they’re sooooo good.)
