Sunset Engagement at Retzer Nature Center

Tyler + Tessa | Engaged

Beautiful Sunset Engagement Photos at Retzer Nature Center

I feel so honored that Tessa and Tyler chose me as their engagement/wedding photographer! A little backstory, I’ve known Tessa since she was in high school. My husband Gustavo was her choir teacher and I got to see her excel as a performer while she attended high school. One of my favorite performances of hers was when she played Morticia in The Addams Family in the first-ever high school production of the show. Tessa loves performing… we even took her senior pictures in a theater!

Tessa has been following me along my photography journey for about 5 years. When the time was right, Tessa knew that she was going to ask me to be her wedding photographer. When she approached me this past spring after she got engaged and asked if I would be her wedding photographer, of course, I said yes!

So along comes Tyler! They met in college at UW-Milwaukee. It was after UW-M’s UREC Fest, and they were getting food at the cafe in the dorm. Tyler was an RA at the time, and a mutual friend had been trying to get them together for a full year before they met. Tyler and Tessa and a few friends went for a walk to Bradford Beach, and while there, they realized that they had a lot in common. Their birthdays were two days apart, they both worked at scout camps, worked at a pizza place, had corgis, and loved breakfast food at any time of day. After the beach, Tessa and Tyler spent the next three consecutive days together as much as possible, and when they were hanging out at Tessa’s apartment that night Tyler said, “So we should put a label on this or something, huh?” around 1:30am.

Fast forward a bit, Tyler proposed this March during a joint birthday party they were having. In the middle of a lull in the conversation, Tyler got down on a knee, and said, “Anyway, Tessa will you marry me?” as he simultaneously opened the ring box. Before too much time elapsed she replied “I mean, yeah”, not before he elaborated, “Yes, I’m serious”, because she was taking too long. And the rest is history!!

Tessa expressed to me that she wanted a “woodsy” engagement session, so I asked them to meet me at Retzer Nature Center. I think it was the perfect choice! Their personalities are so easy-going, silly, and goofy, so we were smiling and laughing the entire time! You can totally see how comfortable they felt around each other! The sun was setting perfectly behind the trees at Retzer, which created some beautiful, romantic photos!! It was a perfect evening!

You guys, I am SO happy for these two, and I’m so excited for their wedding day next September at The Venue at Milwaukee Brewing Company!! It’s going to be sooo amazing!! Enjoy a few of my favorites from these love bird’s engagement session at Retzer Nature Center!