Edward Anne Estate at Bavaria Downs

Edward Anne Estate at Bavaria Downs is a European-inspired mansion wedding venue in Chaska, Minnesota. Located at 3919 Bavaria Road, the estate offers indoor and outdoor ceremony options, two private getting-ready suites, gardens, a fountain, and reception space for up to 350 guests. Catering and bar service are provided through D’Amico Hospitality. This guide shares my perspective as a wedding photographer, including favorite photo locations, lighting tips, and things to consider when planning your day.

Edward Anne Estate has so many of the things I love photographing: beautiful gardens, interesting architecture, big windows, and plenty of room to explore. If you’re dreaming of a garden wedding with a European-inspired setting, this is a lovely venue to have on your list!

Here’s a look at the property, my favorite places for photos, and a few helpful things to think about while planning.

Is Bavaria Downs the same as Edward Anne Estate?

A little naming clarification before we get into it!

Bavaria Downs is home to three venues: Edward Anne Estate, Equestria West, and Woodland Glasshaus. Edward Anne Estate is the original mansion on the property, and it’s the venue I’m talking about in this guide.

You’ll still see older wedding galleries refer to it simply as Bavaria Downs. If you love the mansion with the ceremony overlooking the prairie, ask about Edward Anne Estate when scheduling your tour.

Quick Facts About Bavaria Downs

Getting married at Edward Anne Estate at Bavaria Downs

Edward Anne Estate is tucked into the gardens and rolling hills of Chaska, with a beautiful mansion at the center of it all. Inside, there’s so much character: woodwork, fireplaces, staircases, and big windows. Outside, you have the fountain, courtyard, and greenery to explore.

I love that you can spend your whole wedding day here, from getting ready with your people to the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dancing. There’s time to settle in and enjoy the place, and plenty of beautiful spots for photos along the way!

The setting lends itself to a romantic garden wedding, but I also love seeing couples bring in bright colors, meaningful traditions, and their own personalities. You can absolutely have a gorgeous mansion wedding and spend the day laughing and being yourselves.

Why couples love Edward Anne Estate

Edward Anne Estate is a lovely option for couples who:

• Love European-inspired architecture
• Want indoor and outdoor spaces throughout their day
• Prefer to get married and celebrate at the same venue
• Want a beautiful setting within reach of the Twin Cities
• Care about having a variety of backdrops for their photographs

The estate gives guests different places to gather, from the rooms inside the mansion to the courtyard outside. When you tour, take a little time to explore those spaces and picture your people enjoying them.

If you love architectural details, greenery, and a mansion setting, there is a lot here to get excited about!

Couples also love having so much of the day in one place, with outdoor ceremony options, beautiful indoor spaces if the weather changes, and gardens for guests to enjoy. There are plenty of little spots to step away for portraits, too. The mansion and grounds become such a memorable part of the celebration!

It’s the kind of venue where guests actually remember the setting afterward.

Why I love photographing weddings at Edward Anne Estate

There’s so much variety here. We can make portraits with the mansion in the background, walk through the gardens, spend a few minutes by the fountain, and photograph indoors using the window light.

I especially love being able to move between wider photographs that show the setting and closer portraits that focus on you. The architecture gives us something beautiful to work with, while the gardens offer softer, greener backgrounds.

We’ll choose locations based on the light and what you’re drawn to. You don’t need to tour the entire property during portrait time to have a varied gallery!

Lighting notes

• Inside the estate: The windows are lovely for portraits. I look for soft light near them when photographing getting ready and bridal portraits.
• In the gardens: Direct summer sun can be strong. We’ll look for shade or adjust our angle depending on the time of day.
• For the ceremony: Talk through the ceremony time before finalizing your timeline. The sun’s position can affect the light on your faces.
• In the evening: Leave a little flexibility for outdoor portraits if you love warm, glowy light. I’ll help you find the timing for your date.

Edward Anne Estate wedding photos

These photographs show some of my favorite parts of the venue, from the mansion and getting-ready spaces to the gardens, ceremony setup, and reception.

The gardens and fountain

The fountain is one of my favorite places for couple portraits. It gives us a beautiful feature to include in wider photos, with greenery nearby for closer photographs together.

The gardens are also a lovely place to walk a little during portraits. Sometimes that movement gives us the best photos: holding hands, laughing, stopping for a kiss, and enjoying a few minutes together.

If these are the spots you’re most excited about, tell me when we’re planning! We can make sure there’s time for them.

Ceremony spaces

Edward Anne Estate offers indoor and outdoor ceremony options.

The outdoor setting is especially beautiful when the gardens are green in the summer. When you tour, ask to see where you’ll stand, how the chairs will be arranged, and what the space looks like with your guest count.

Have the team show you the indoor option, too. Minnesota weather has its own plans sometimes, and it helps to know exactly how a change would work.

If you’re including cultural traditions or an additional ceremony, bring that up early. The venue team can help with the setup, and we can plan the photography around each part.

Getting-ready spaces

Edward Anne Estate has two private getting-ready suites, including the Countryside Suite.

From a photography perspective, I love the window light and the opportunity to make a few portraits before heading outside. That large circular window is such a beautiful spot to show off a dress and veil!

Give yourself a little time here once you’re dressed. We can photograph the finishing touches, a moment with someone important, and a few portraits before the next part of the day.

And keep one area near the windows clear of bags if you can. A wedding morning comes with a lot of stuff, so having a little open space ready is always helpful.

The courtyard and cocktail hour

The courtyard gives guests a place to enjoy the outdoor setting during cocktail hour. The estate’s bar and social spaces connect with the screened porch and courtyard, creating different areas to gather.

This part of the day is a lovely opportunity for candid photographs. Your friends catching up, family members greeting each other, and everyone enjoying a drink together are all part of the story.

When building your timeline, think about whether you’d like to attend cocktail hour. If spending that time with your guests matters to you, we can plan more of your portraits beforehand.

The reception space

On your tour, ask to see the reception setup for a wedding close to your size. A room looks different once you add guest tables, a head table, flowers, and a dance floor.

Think about the parts of the evening you’re most excited for. Do you want everyone close during speeches? Plenty of space for dancing? A particular backdrop behind your head table?

These are useful questions for the venue team, and they’ll help you picture how your plans fit into the room.

I love photographing both the finished details before guests arrive and the room later, when everyone is enjoying it. Flowers and place settings are beautiful, but the photographs of your people celebrating bring that space to life.

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Bavaria Downs Wedding Gallery

View more photos from this colorful wedding at Edward Anne State in Bavaria Downs here: Edward Anne State at Bavaria Downs Wedding

Photo Opportunities Throughout the Property

The property is big enough that your gallery naturally ends up with a lot of variety without needing to leave the venue or force anything. You can go from elegant mansion portraits to open rolling hills in just a few minutes, which keeps everything feeling dynamic but still cohesive.

Some of my favorite areas for photos are:

• the front of the mansion
• the gardens and fountain areas
• the grand staircase
• the fireplace rooms
• the patios and courtyards
• the hills around sunset

The venue also photographs beautifully in different weather and seasons. Summer feels lush and green, fall gets really cinematic with the changing trees, and winter weddings inside the estate feel cozy in a way that still feels elegant.

And honestly, Bavaria Downs is one of those venues where even just walking between spaces usually turns into a photo opportunity. The property has so much texture and character that a lot of the best moments happen naturally in-between things.

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Things to know before you book

• Check capacity for your layout. The estate currently lists a maximum of 350 guests. Ask what works comfortably with your table arrangement and dance floor.
• Confirm getting-ready access. Find out when you can enter the suites and whether you’ll need additional time for hair and makeup.
• Ask about catering and drinks. D’Amico Hospitality provides food and beverages. Discuss menus, minimums, and getting-ready refreshments with the team.
• Review your package carefully. Confirm which services are included and how bringing your own vendors works.
• Walk through the weather backup. Picture the indoor ceremony with your flowers and guest count.
• Leave time to move between spaces. Include a little breathing room for gathering family, walking to portraits, and getting back to your guests.
• Ask about pets if you want yours involved. The venue’s current policy welcomes pets with a professional handler.
• Share your traditions and priorities early. This helps everyone plan the spaces and timing around what matters to you.

Planning your wedding photos here

My favorite approach is to choose a few beautiful locations, give you enough time to enjoy them, and leave plenty of room for the celebration.

We can photograph the mansion, find lovely light in the gardens, and make time for evening portraits if that’s something you love. Along the way, I’ll be watching for the hugs, laughter, and little moments you might not even notice happening.

If you’re planning your wedding at Edward Anne Estate, I’d love to hear what you’re envisioning! Get in touch here.