Denver Engagement Photos | 4 Unique Spots

Denver is a vibrant city with many neighborhoods (each with their own feel), public art, yummy restaurants, and great outdoor parks. There are endless fun locations to take wedding and engagement photos around the city, so today I’m rounding up a list of a few of my favorite spots to explore.

If you want to get a deep dive on engagement photos in the city’s main parks, check out my blog on the Best 6 Parks in Denver for engagement photos.

Otherwise, buckle up and plan to explore these fun spots!

Restaurants and Bars

Don’t underestimate your favorite hang out spot, the location of your first date, or a place that brings you joy with your friends. Hitting up a bar or restaurant gives us good options for both inside and outside photos, and highlights the fun decor of a particular spot. Denver is full of amazing restaurants and bars so the opportunities are endless. And don’t forget that hotels often have fun bars as well!

The only thing to keep in mind with restaurants or bars is that they are public places, so you shouldn’t expect to be able to take over without permission. Give them a call ahead of time to make sure you can bring in a photographer and then plan your session for a time when they might be a little less busy.

And then order up some food and drinks, get cuddly, and enjoy the moment!

Check out Chelsea and Teddy’s bar crawl engagement session and Amber and Carmen’s In-N-Out burger session.

Union Station

If there is one iconic spot in Denver, it’s Union Station. Built in 1914 it served as a major hub to western train travel in the early 20th century, and had a surge of users during the 1940’s and World War II. As train travel declined in the later part of the century, the building declined as well until it was revitalized in the early 21st century to be a hub of commercial and practical space in downtown Denver. The newly renovated building opened in 2014, 100 years after the first opening in 1914. Today the building sees Amtrak rail travel, a central bus station, a hotel, and numerous restaurants and shops.

While taking photos inside Union Station is a bit tricky (there is a complicated permit process a very specific times that you can host a session inside), the architecture and iconic structure is visible and usable from the outside and worth a stop if you’re in the area for photos anyway.

Checkout Marco and Karissa’s engagement session that features downtown Denver and Union Station.

A Fun Community Space

For many people, connection and community are a central part of their lives. What better way to incorporate something meaningful in your session than choosing a spot that supports your community connections. For example, if you are part of a indoor climbing community you might choose to do your session in a climbing gym. If you are part of a bookclub at a local bookshop, you could visit the bookstore for your session. And if you’re part of the queer community, there are amazing queer owned restaurants and event spaces you could pop into.

Let this be your invitation to think outside of the box a little bit in terms of spaces you could use.

Street Art and Murals

A lot of cities have great street art or murals and Denver is no different. There are certain areas of the city that have more art than others, but one awesome place to check out is RiNo along Larimer street. It can be a fun afternoon activity to start at the Ramble Hotel (which also has a very cool bar), then walk down Larimer and pop down side streets and alleys to see where your favorite art is located. You can make notes and return later for your session, making sure to highlight the spots you like the best. And of course, you can always leave these decisions to your photographer and make it a bit of a surprise for you.

One other place to find good art is the 40 West Arts District near Sloan’s Lake in Lakewood.

The fun thing about murals is that they often change, so a visit one year might result in different art the next year. Plus, many of the city spots that are prime spots for art also have cool city architecture features nearby, so you can get a lot of variety in a small geographic location.

Check out Stephanie and Justin’s fun walk through Rino.