I’m quite obsessed with this Rancho Palos Verdes Tropical Engagement session. Kaileia and Sean really wanted a tropical feel to their session and I think we were able to nail that at South Coast Botanic Gardens. Kaileia’s family is originally from Hawaii so having a tropical environment was special to her and having a South Coast Botanic Gardens Engagement Session was the perfect fit!
Typically, finding a tropical location in SoCal isn’t a challenge, most resorts and hotels have a very tropical feel here in SoCal. Not to be confused with beachy. For example, we were going for that Jurassic Park type of tropical feel, not sand and waves. Anyway, finding a location ended up proving difficult due to Covid-19. Hotels and resorts are not currently allowing non-hotel guest to use their property (totally understandable!). We found the perfect location when Kaileia suggested South Coast Botanic Gardens for their session. South Coast Botanic Garden’s current slogan is “Nature never closes”… hello, amazing! With over 30+ acres of different scenery, we knew that this location would be perfect specifically for their tropical/botanical engagemnet session.
Everything was lining up perfectly while planning their tropical engagment session, then the weather set in!
It was completely overacted and gloomy all day. We couldn’t postpone the session so we went ahead with it and let me tell you, the tropical and botanical gods were ever in our favor. About 25 minutes after we started our session at the botanic gardens the sun started peaking through the clouds! It was just enough to give them a gorgeous glow and I was SO freaking excited!
Here’s the thing, “Jurassic Park Tropical” as I like to explain it, only works with some dreamy good light becuase of how lush botanical gardens tend to be. Your images just won’t pop the same way without that glow. So ya, I squealed a little bit and shot as many images as possible while that sun was peeking through! As a result, the sun peeking through also allowed me to place them in a location that I wouldn’t have been able to prior to that, lighting is everything y’all! Ahh – I just can’t wait to go back for another South Coast Botanic Gardens Engagement Session… or maybe a wedding ;)!
I’m so excited for 2021! These two were just SO much fun to hang out with. We bonded over our mutual love for Jurassic Park and Tacos, it doesn’t get any better than that.
Kaileia and Sean, thank you SO much for choosing me to be part of such an amazing time in your lives. Your botanical gardens engagment session was to die for! I can’t wait for your wedding day, it’s going to be epic!
XO,
Nataly
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