When Lizzie and Liam reached out, they knew exactly the kind of images they were after — unhurried, romantic, and shot on film. As a Minneapolis film wedding photographer, I couldn’t think of a more fitting backdrop than the historic grandeur of Summit Avenue in St. Paul.
Summit Avenue is one of the Twin Cities’ most breathtaking streets — lined with Victorian-era mansions, cathedral-like canopies of old-growth trees, and the kind of timeless architecture that makes film photography sing. We wandered the length of it together, Lizzie and Liam laughing and leaning into each other while the stone facades and wrought iron gates told their own quiet stories behind them.
What I love about film photography for engagement sessions is exactly what unfolded that evening — nothing forced, nothing posed. Just two people deeply in love, moving through a beautiful place while the light did the rest. By the time the golden hour hit Summit Avenue, the warm glow on the limestone buildings made every frame feel like it belonged in another era.
We ended the session at an overlook above the Mississippi River — one of my favorite spots in the entire Twin Cities for film portraits. Lizzie and Liam popped a bottle of champagne as the river shimmered below them, and the whole scene came together perfectly: the soft light, the laughter, the bubbles catching the last of the day.
