You’re looking for the best engagement location in Milwaukee. You want beautiful surfaces and textures, architectural elements, and an option to showcase the beautiful Milwaukee coastline. No matter your taste for greenery, or not, water, or not, or brick or not, I have the most perfect and absolute best Milwaukee engagement locations for you.

The locations I discuss in this post are a dream. They complement each other. They’re close to each other and they have beautiful lighting. The color tones are complimentary to all skin tones, and the privacy is ideal for a romantic engagement session.

Let’s take a look at what the locations have to offer, after all, Milwaukee does have a lot to offer for engagement session locations.

Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
(My No. 1 Best Engagement Location in Milwaukee)

Why Villa Terrace for Your Engagement Session?

Villa Terrace is the epitome of old-world charm and makes a magnificent backdrop to a romantic engagement session. With its garden-draped bluff, romantic architecture, and old world charm, Villa Terrace easily wins the hearts of couples and absolutely wins my top vote in best engagement location in Milwaukee (and all of Wisconsin). You don’t often find an Italian villa so far from Europe, wouldn’t you say?

Starting with formal attire at Villa Terrace gives every couple all of the classic elements of an engagement session. Above all, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve created a formal, elegant look will withstand time for years and years. The Renaissance Revival location paired with beautiful wardrobe are a portfolio dream. Likewise, it will look effortless on your mantel, showcasing the ever-important time in your life, and will serve as a beautiful compliment to wedding imagery.

Style at Villa Terrace

An engagement session at Villa Terrace can tell many stories. It can be about delicate touches, chivalry and elegant femininity. However, such an engagement can also set the tone of a European destination wedding location – right here in town.

A Villa Terrace engagement has an ethereal tone. For example, the property has endless natural light. It is filled with dreamy color tones. On the other hand, you can also retreat to the Florentine gardens, kiss behind Tuscan columns and sit in a quiet European courtyard among archways and iron-laced windows. If you are looking for a dreamy location, this is it. In short, you can do all this ever needing to hop a flight across the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, Villa Terrace has a surprise for you. If you’re craving a casual atmosphere in addition to your shoot, just five minutes down the hill, is McKinley Beach – full of white sand, endless sky and uninterrupted shoreline.

I welcome you to come see more of this Villa Terrace Engagement session on my portfolio.

McKinley Beach & Marina

How to Get to McKinley Beach & Marina

Heading down the hill (by car, not on foot – see map at the bottom of the post) we have a 5 minute jaunt to McKinley Beach and Marina where you’‘ll get an entirely different look, landscape, air and sun. The open water, light sand and open air allows sunlight to disperse in a very different way than in and around architecture and trees.

Parking along Lincoln Memorial Road will give you a quick change location away from parking lot at the McKinley Marina. With outfit number two on, you can completely change the scene. New colors, more casual, a blanket and some lifestyle props, you have a whole new set of options here.

The McKinley Beach Aesthetic

You’ll be met with tranquil waters, and truly a dreamy palette of pale grays and blues. Walk along the white sand and sit amongst the gulls. It really is a beautiful by the water. If you’re lucky you’ll catch a horizon speckled with sail boats. One of my favorite views by the lake. I welcome you to come see more of this Lakeshore Engagement session on my portfolio.

Picking the Best Milwaukee Engagement Session Location

Selection Criteria & Considerations

These two Milwaukee engagement locations are by far my favorite and the best locations, in my opinion. Things to remember:

• Pay attention to the time of day you plan to shoot. For a more diffused sun look (for a sun lower in the sky) pick a time in early morning or early evening.
• Ensure the composition is avoiding distracting objects, like trees along the coast, or a stray pedestrian. Sessions that are private translate much better on film.
• Book your engagement session with the venue to ensure you have access to the spots you want to have your photograph taken.
• Try to pick a time that allows your session to be free of other people and in private.
• Pay attention to clothing colors. Picking clothing colors that are complimentary to the landscape and architecture are key to making colors melt together in a photo. Look for colors and tones that bring out the best in your skin tone and the environment. That’s a little photographer trick to keep that in your back pocket.

These locations have so much to offer and are the gems of the city. And now you have the secret to the best Milwaukee engagement locations. Consequently, even in the rain, you cannot go wrong at these locations – the landscape and details are beautiful.

Now, if you’re still thinking about engagement locations, you are still in the wedding planning phase. In that case, I have a great article for you called Wedding Planning Mistakes to Avoid. See you there.