Outdoor Parks near Mounds View, MN

meaganandchad

So I'm running into a problem. My FI and I had wanted to have our pictures taken at a park near our venue since our venue really isn't that pretty. We had planned on taking that at Silverwood Park since it's near us but it turns out you have to reserve the entire park in order to take pics-talk about $$$. So we chose Coon Rapids Dam. Turns out they won't allow us to take professional pics either. We've called multiple parks and have been running out of luck-either they charge a ridiculous price or won't allow professional pics at all. Does anyone have ANY suggestions about where we could take pictures? The venue is the Mermaid in Mounds View and we'd prefer not to make our guests drive too far but at this point I'm looking for any ideas. TIA!

EmilyCMN

Brightwood Hills golf course maybe? Hansen Park, Long Lake Regional Park... Can you call the city of New Brighton and Mounds View to see where they would allow pictures?

TaffetaDarlingTaffeta

Do they think it is a larger production that it actually is? 

That seems really odd. I've been out to county/regional/city parks plenty of time taking portraits and never been stopped, questioned or asked to pay a fee. Personal Photography should be no charge. And hiring a pro for personal use does not make it "commercial". If you are doing something larger scale commercial, with a crew and all. Yes, that requires a permit. Or maybe if you want exclusive use of a specific area. 

If it's just two of you and even the wedding party and a photographer, really who is going to police you from wandering around taking photos.

meaganandchad

See that's what we thought too! It's just going to be us, our wedding party, and our families. And we hired a photographer and she may have an assistant to help. Nothing big. But everyone we call says we have to pay something like a 50/hr fee to them for letting a professional on their premises or makes us reserve the entire grounds. I don't know if it's just because of the economy or what but it's not fun. Long lake is a good idea...I haven't heard of Hansen but I'll definitely check it out. Calling the city would be a good idea. Thank you!

TaffetaDarlingTaffeta

Talk with the photographer, they should be handling some of the logistics too.  Good Luck!

EmilyCMN

I grew up in New Brighton so I know the area well. I was trying to think of pretty parks but I am drawing a blank since they are all city owned so you may run into the same problems. Right up Cnty Rd H from the Mermaid is  Edgewood Middle School and their fields are surrounded by trees... might be able to call the school or the mounds view school district to see if you can do the photos there if there isn't anything else planned.

EmilyCMN

Or there are gardens and a gazebo around city hall in new brighton... that is maybe 4 miles from the mermaid, up old hwy 8. Or the family service center has a nice small park with a pond and a bridge.

meaganandchad

City Hall is a good idea! I'll also talk to Edgewood School. I really hadn't even thought about doing them anywhere other than a park but in reality just as long as there's a good scenery that's all I'm worried about. I'll forward your advice onto my photographer and hopefully she can find something!

LolaBelle515

Maybe the public beach on Lake Johanna in Roseville? (or is it Lake Josephine?) Or the public beach at Turtle Lake in Shoreview? There are several public beaches around there, so you could get some pretty dock/lake pictures?

Also, Northwestern College has a pretty campus that's very close to there and it is on the lake...I wonder if they would care if you came and took pcitures there?  That would be WAY more private than the public beaches and it's gorgeous. They do a bunch of weddings there, so they're used to bridal parties.

good luck!

graysquirrel

Long Lake Park isn't far from your venue at all. Like pps said, there are some schools in the area that have wooded areas. Irondale High School might be another one to check out.

meaganandchad

I actually go to Northwestern so I had actually planned on taking pictures there from the beginning-turns out they have a wedding that day and don't like to have two parties on campus (even if we're just taking pictures) The campus is GORGEOUS but that's what got me started on this hunt. I'm thinking I'll look into Long Lake and I think Lake Johanna (I think that's the one that has Tony Schmidt Regional Park attached but I may have them mixed up??) I'll pass everything onto my photog!

flower_lover

Jumping in late here...the Muriel Sahlin Arboretum in Roseville is also GORGEOUS. There is a beautiful fountain and lots of flowers everywhere. We almost had our ceremony there, I would highly recommend checking it out!!