Allie & Ryan | An Engagement Session at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon
The dogs wore bow ties. Matching plaid ones. I want that on the record immediately.
Allie and Ryan brought both of them to their engagement session at Hoyt Arboretum — a Jack Russell mix and a yellow Lab — and the dogs were, to be clear, fully committed to the session. The Lab sat beside them on the mossy steps with the dignity of someone who had done this before. The Jack Russell was held, which was probably the right call.
Hoyt Arboretum is one of my most-photographed locations in Portland, and for good reason. Two thousand three hundred species of trees from six continents, 12 miles of trails through the hills of Washington Park, and a redwood grove that produces some of the most beautiful, otherworldly light I know how to shoot in. The trees climb straight up — tall and close together — and the light between them goes soft and luminous in a way that makes every frame feel like it was lit on purpose.
We kissed on the redwood deck. We wandered the forest trails. We tucked the ring into a fern for a detail shot, the cushion-cut diamond and its diamond halo catching what filtered light came down through the canopy. It belongs there.
Allie and Ryan are easy — comfortable with each other and comfortable being seen, which is everything you want in an engagement session. She leaned into him and they just settled, the way people do when they've already figured out the most important part.
They got married at Gorge Retreat in the Columbia River Gorge, and it was one of the most spectacular wedding days I've ever photographed — including a ceremony on a dock over a pond with the Gorge rising behind them, and the couple high-fiving every single guest afterward. You can see the full wedding here.
But first: the arboretum. Two dogs in bowties. A ring in a fern. The beginning.
Hoyt Arboretum is located at 4000 SW Fairview Blvd in Portland, Oregon — a living museum of trees with 12 miles of trails, a stunning redwood grove, and some of the most beautiful natural light in the city. One of my favorite places to shoot engagements in the entire Pacific Northwest.
Booking engagement sessions in Portland and beyond — let's connect.
Hoyt Arboretum engagement photographer, Portland Oregon engagement session, engagement photos with dogs Portland, Hoyt Arboretum engagement photos, Portland engagement photographer, Washington Park engagement session, outdoor engagement session Portland Oregon, engagement photos with dogs Oregon, Rare Day Photo engagement session, Portland forest engagement photographer
