It’s not just the destination that matters…
As Spokane-based photographer, it gets really intimidating when someone wants to meet with me somewhere outside of the area. Especially since I had only been to this town once in my life, and I was maybe 8. So it’s really (hopefully) very easy to understand that I had NO idea where I was going when C & T wanted to go to the University of Idaho’s Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (A&BG from here on out) for their second engagement session before their June wedding. Neither of us live in Moscow, so it was bound to be an adventure from the start.
The U of I A&BG was suggested to me by a family member of mine who lives in the area, and I completely trusted them that this would be an easy location to find! Joke’s on me though, because neither Apple nor Google Maps had any idea where they were taking us. The fact that there was construction on campus didn’t help at all.
They’re just the absolute cutest.
When C & T got there - by the way, parking was a nightmare because, of course, there was also a golf tournament going on - I had done a little scouting and found TWO trails that could potentially lead us to where we wanted to go. One was down a hill but was surrounded by wildflowers, and the other was - well also - down a hill but was leading to what looked like just a grass clearing. So of course we chose to go where the wildflowers were, that was the vibe we were going for.
A moment for the ring
No. That was not the way. We made our way down the hill, finding a couple cute spots to get some quick shots, but we could NOT find the beautiful arboretum we were promised! So then we hiked back up the hill to try the other trail. Here’s the kicker. When we got up to the top of the hill, we were fenced in because of the construction. I walked up and down the fence trying to find a spot where we could slip through and make it to the other side of the road, but there was nothing we could do unless we wanted to fully scale the chain links. So BACK DOWN the trail we went.
Once we found where we came down, we went back up to the parking lot where C was able to get a quick wardrobe change in. She walked away looking like a little forest fairy and it was absolutely PERFECT for what we were about to step into.
I have such a thing for pretty stairs
We went down that second trail, and came across the most beautiful park I have ever been in. The golden hour glow was starting to set in and the greens just popped perfectly. C & T really embraced the vibes as we made our way around the trees and the pond. A small family of geese crossed our path but the mama used her hissing skills to keep us at bay as we gawked over the fuzzy babies. The romantic and fairytale feel of the A&BG is something I can never express in a way that does it justice, and anyone who is located down in the Moscow, ID area, or even in Spokane but willing to travel, HAS to check it out and use it for their sessions.
Long story short, we spent an extra hour on this session once we figured out where we were supposed to be, and I realized just how luck I am to be able to work with these beautiful and patient people. Their wedding is coming up in three weeks and I cannot be more excited to be a part of their magical story.
Love from afar
