As a wedding photographer, I get to work with a ton of great couples in Louisville, Southern Indiana and beyond! In addition to posting beautiful images, I also wanted to share some fun ideas for any couple when you’re struggling to think of something different for date night.

Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to show your partner some extra love! That’s why I’m sharing some date night ideas in Louisville and Southern Indiana, with some variety for people who plan to stay in and do something low key, or those who want to get a little dressed up and go out! 

P.S.: Want to win a Couples Mini Session + Vday treats? I’m doing a special giveaway on my Instagram on February 2!

Date Night In for Couples

Businesses are providing more “take home” options than ever before! Here are some ways you can enjoy a date night in:

• Order take out from the first restaurant you went to together on a date. For us, that would be the Parlour in Jeffersonville. There’s a new location in Louisville on Frankfort Avenue! We love the buffalo chicken pizza.
• Learn how to make a new craft cocktail with virtual mixology classes, or follow a recipe or Youtube video.
• Try a virtual class together: Cooking, mixology, hand lettering, painting, dance, meal prep – Level Up with Us (local) and Brit + Co have a great variety of virtual classes you can try!
• Play a game for two: Adventure Challenge, The Intimacy Deck, The Ultimate Game for Couples, the Hygge game, Truth or Drink are some fun, new options!
• Have pets? Try something cute you saw in a viral video, like the Dog and Cat: Obstacle Challenge. We did this with Jenga blocks and it was pretty funny – our dog Luna actually did better than the cats!
• Learn how to do couple’s massage or acro yoga
• Rent an Airbnb somewhere secluded for the weekend and enjoy each other’s company!
• For the sappy romantics like me: Make a slideshow of some of your best pictures since you started dating!
• Hire me to come take some cutie date-night-in photos of you!!! I’m doing a special on in-home sessions all this month. You can be eat pizza, play with your pets, or get all dressed up and have beautiful portraits taken to remember the day, just because.
• Find a cool DIY project to do together! Check out the new Craftery Bar in Louisville! Whether it’s something that will make your space more cozy, functional or decorative, DIYs are always a nice way to connect and create something cool, too. 

date night out ideas for couples who want to get out of the house!

• Recreate your first date! Go to the same place(s), think back to the conversations you had and what you were feeling at the time, and how far you’ve come since then in your relationship
• Try a couple’s cooking class (bonus if you can get your friends to sign up too!). One local place I love is Cooking at Millie’s – they bring in a variety of local chefs and unique menus, plus afterwards they put ALL the recipes on their website. At MESA in New Albany, IN, you can watch the chef cook as you enjoy cocktails and then enjoy the meal in an intimate setting. Virtual options available.
• Check out the cheeseboard craze! There are several local charcuterie places, like Board & You in New Albany, and Cultured in Louisville. You can order customized boards and pair it with your favorite wines or cocktails! It makes you feel fancy AF.
• Go to a local museum together: We’ve got some great ones in Louisville like the Speed Art Museum, 21C, the KY Science Center, Muhammed Ali Center, KMAC, Frazier History, and smaller art galleries as well.
• Pottery throwing!!! Ghost vibes, anyone? Literally you can’t ask for more classic romance than this. AA Clay has date night classes and we loved our pottery experience!
• DIY bouquet together from a local flower truck! We’ve got several in Louisville like Fleur & Frond and Little Lou Flower Truck. There’s just something special about fresh flowers!
• Get dressed up and explore the city! Logan Street Market is a fun place with a ton of food vendors, bars, desserts, and locally made goods! Market Street, the Big Four Bridge/Waterfront Park, and downtown New Albany are some more favorites of mine!
• Make a reservation somewhere with ambiance: Louisville favorites open for dine-in include Decca, Nouvelle (wine and small bites), Bar Vetti, Gold Bar (the pretzel dog that changed my life), Hell or High Water (cocktails and small bites), Ostra, Butchertown Grocery, the Limbo, and Noche Mexican BBQ. Southern Indiana favorites: Brooklyn and the Butcher, The Exchange, Monnik (brand new!), and Pints & Union (English pub)
• Throw some axes! I got to try this for the first time last weekend and it was pretty fun 🙂 At Flying Axes in Louisville, you get a “coach” that shows you the best techniques and has some game ideas to add some friendly competition
• Get all dressed up and hire me to come take sunset photos! Sunset in this area is SO pretty. Since you’re dressed up, why not get some beautiful sunset photos before you go out to eat or enjoy your date night?

Since you’re probably not going to do ALL these ideas in one night, be sure to save or Pin this blog post so you can come back to it on another weekend that you’re looking for something fun to do!

Want to schedule an in-home couples session during the month of February? Mention this blog post and save 10%!

Thanks for reading!

johanna elise