By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Engaged couple leaning in for a kiss with their hands behind their backs, a green windmill and the Zaan behind them at the Zaanse Schans

Rachel and Jun flew in from Singapore a few weeks after he proposed, and they wanted engagement photos at the Zaanse Schans. She had dreamed of Dutch windmills since she was a child, so the choice was easy.

A row of windmills along the Zaan, green wooden houses and little bridges: the village has everything a newly engaged couple could wish for. On a late August afternoon, it became the setting for one of my photoshoots at the Zaanse Schans.

Where
The Zaanse Schans, along the Zaan
When
Late August, late afternoon
Session
Engagement Photoshoot
Light
Low sun, long shadows and a clear blue sky

Green Houses on the Zaanse Schans

Their engagement photos at the Zaanse Schans began on a brick path between green wooden houses. The sun was low behind them, so their shadows ran long across the stones as they walked toward me, hand in hand. She wore a long dress with tiny flowers, he a pale pink shirt. I had shared outfit ideas beforehand, and soft pastels sit well in this green village.

Couple in pastel summer clothes walking hand in hand down a sunlit brick path between green wooden houses, long shadows behind them
Couple embracing in front of a green wooden house with a red tile roof and a dark red-leaved tree at the Zaanse Schans

Halfway down the path, they turned to each other and laughed. For a moment, they forgot me completely, and that is exactly what I hope for.

Man in glasses and a pale pink shirt laughing with a woman in a flowered dress as they walk hand in hand through the village

A Ring Among Pink Flowers

On a small bridge with white railings, Jun pulled Rachel close. The ring got a frame of its own, tucked into a cluster of pink flowers by the path. Then they found a second wooden bridge, with the rooftops of the village behind them. He lifted her off her feet, and she laughed down at him.

Woman resting a hand on her fiancé's chest on a small bridge with white railings, green leaves around them in the late sun
Round diamond engagement ring nestled among soft pink flowers and buds, a close detail against a dark green background
Man lifting his laughing fiancée on a wooden bridge with gray and white railings, the gabled roofs of the Zaanse Schans behind

Windmills of the Zaanse Schans

Next, we crossed the grass toward the windmills of the village. First I stepped far back, so the mills could tower over them and they became two small figures in a wide green field. After that, they ran toward me hand in hand, while the wind played with her hair.

Wide view of the Zaanse Schans windmills over a green meadow, a couple small in the grass walking hand in hand
Windmills along the Zaan, late on an August afternoon
Couple running hand in hand across the grass and laughing, the windmills of the Zaanse Schans against a blue sky
Close frame of the couple laughing in the sun, her hand holding her hair against the wind, windmills soft in the distance

At the water’s edge, the big green mill stood right above them. They leaned in for a kiss with their hands behind their backs, a small game that became the opening frame of this story. Afterwards, they simply held each other and looked across the Zaan at the other mills.

Back view of an engaged couple holding each other on a wooden jetty, looking across the Zaan at a row of windmills

A Heart Made of Clogs

At six o’clock, we stopped at a wall of painted clogs arranged in a big heart. Rachel rested her hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. For a moment, neither of them said a word.

Couple standing in front of a big heart made of painted wooden clogs on a dark wooden wall at the Zaanse Schans
Close embrace before a heart of colorful painted clogs, the woman smiling up at her fiancé, his watch on the hand at her waist

A little further on, two giant yellow clogs stood in the reeds. First they posed behind them, with red roofs and windmills all around.

Couple standing behind two giant yellow clogs in tall reeds, red-roofed houses and windmills of the Zaanse Schans behind them

Then they climbed in like children, and Jun waved at me as if from a boat. That was how their engagement photos at the Zaanse Schans ended: playful, warm and completely them. Within a week, their gallery was ready, just in time to share the news at home.

Couple sitting in a giant yellow clog in the reeds, the man waving and the woman laughing, a playful end to their engagement photos

Recently engaged and dreaming of windmills? Discover how my photoshoots at the Zaanse Schans work.