Sunset Hikes, Prosecco Toasts & Alpine Solitude: A Summer Engagement in the Dolomites

Italy / Dolomites / South Tyrol / Corvara / Col Alt / Pralongia

Montana & Danny’s engagement session in the Dolomites was nothing short of magical. Over two days in late June 2025, we explored the alpine beauty of Corvara – golden light, empty trails, and a rare cultural moment that made this session unforgettable.

We began with a sunset session at Crep de Mont, soaking in the last golden rays with jagged peaks as our backdrop. The next day, we took the last cable car to Col Alt, arriving to an almost ghostly quiet – no tourists, no hikers, just alpine stillness. It turns out we had unknowingly arrived during Sacred Heart Sunday, one of South Tyrol’s most revered local holidays.

Earlier that day, I had witnessed a church procession winding through the streets of Corvara, a peaceful and reverent start to what would unfold into something extraordinary.

As the sun dipped behind the peaks, bonfires began to appear across the mountains.These are known as the Sacred Heart Fires, lit each year to honor a vow made in 1796 during the Napoleonic Wars, when Tyroleans entrusted their land to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and vowed to renew their faith each year if they were spared. Against all odds, they won and the tradition has burned bright ever since.

From Col Alt, we hiked toward the Alta Badia Golf Club across the Pralongià meadows, completely alone, just us, the silence, and those glowing mountaintops. At Ütia Punta Trieste, we were welcomed with a spontaneous glass of prosecco by the owner, who was cooking tomato sauce with his friends, while old American rock classics played from a speaker. That little slice of joy – rustic, human, heartfelt – made Montana & Danny feel right at home.

Their stay in Corvara Valley was just a few days, but these photos will carry the mountain magic for a lifetime. And for me? I stayed longer, photographing a secret proposal at Alpe di Siusi, riding eMTB trails across the Dolomites, and soaking up every moment of one of my favorite regions on Earth.

This wasn’t just an engagement session – it was a memory, a cultural immersion, and an unexpected spiritual moment wrapped in summer light.

Planning your own engagement, elopement, or wedding in the Dolomites?

Whether you’re dreaming of quiet trails in Corvara, a sunset hike above Alta Badia, or a mountaintop moment lit by Sacred Heart bonfires, I’d love to help you create and capture something unforgettable.

I’ve spent days exploring this region on foot, bike, and with my camera and I know just how to bring out its magic in every frame.