Couples & Engagements

South Coast Botanic Garden Engagement Session | Emily & Anthony

couple kissing in south coast botanic garden

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If I could spend every week photographing engagement sessions at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes, it would be a dream.

From the jump, Emily and Anthony knew they wanted a verdant, garden-type setting for their engagement session. This was such a breath of fresh air, considering all of the beach sessions that have become my bread and butter as of late. Don’t get me wrong, photos on the beach are beautiful, and there’s nothing like sunsets along the central coast. But it is such a nice change of pace to shoot in a setting that I don’t normally find myself in.

After a quick Google search we found the South Coast Botanic Garden, just down the road from where they live. We were all first-time visitors, and it was so great to explore together. While I have my favorite, go-to session locations, visiting a completely new-to-me spot really gets the creative juices flowing. We had no idea how large the grounds were, but it was exciting to discover more surprises at every turn. We had a wide variety of backdrops thanks to all of the different species on display. This easily became one of my new favorite locations. I can’t wait to come back and shoot here again in the future, especially when more flowers are in bloom!

Emily describes her relationship with Anthony as playful, goofy, and sarcastic. All three of those characteristics were on full display throughout our time together. Theirs is the kind of love that has a real sense of ease to it. They were fully immersed in talking, laughing, and gentle teasing. I had so many opportunities to capture their fun, authentic dynamic as they stayed focused on each other.

After I got home from my session, I received the sweetest message from Emily:

Thank you so much for today! Anthony and I had so much fun with you and you made it so easy and comfortable for us the whole time!

Emily and Anthony, I loved spending the afternoon exploring with the two of you. I hope you love these favorites from our time together.

couple kissing in south coast botanic garden couple kissing and holding each other close guy standing in front of girl while he looks back at her couple dancing and embracing in botanic garden couple looking at each other and embracing in botanic garden girl leading fiance in front of living wall couple sitting on bench and laughing couple holding each other close and laughing in front of living wall couple walking away from camera while girl looks back and smiles man kissing woman's temple as she smiles back towards camera couple embracing as they walk away from camera

 

Want to see more like these engagement photos from South Coast Botanic Garden?

Check out these blog posts:

Jackie & Andrew | Huntington Beach

Emma & Josh | Ventura County

Angie & Gilbert | Carpinteria Bluffs

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Passionate about turning your most heartfelt moments into your legacy of love

When I was first getting to know my husband, Michael's, family, I loved hearing the stories of their marriages— the good times and bad, better and worse, joy as well as sorrow, and always love. But the very first time I saw his grandmother’s collection of family wedding photos perched atop her mantel I had to stop and take in what over 200 years of marriage looked like on display. As I looked on at the images framed on the mantel, immediately all of the stories shared by Michael’s grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins came rushing through my head, and it was so easy to trace them all back to the days they said “I do.” In my role as a wedding photographer, I capture all of the raw emotions of your big day, so when you look back at those images you are reminded of the fullness in your heart and you can see how that first day of marriage created a legacy of love.

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