I left Mia & Broderick’s engagement session feeling so grateful. I couldn’t believe that the light could be so perfect and that I was so lucky to spend such a beautiful evening with a couple as sweet and easy to be around as these two.

These two bought a house last summer and have fallen in love with gardening. Broderick’s mom suggested they check out Hovander for inspiration, and it’s been a special place for them ever since. Walking through, each plant and flower is tagged so you know what everything is. Getting to experience this with them was one of the highlights of my summer.

Hovander Homestead Park is located about 15-20 minutes from Downtown Bellingham in Ferndale, Washington. The park has a historic farmhouse, barn, and other buildings that belonged to the Hovander Family from the 1890s-1970s, now it’s a public park for all of us to admire and enjoy.

Hovander has it all from a photographer’s perspective! The perfect location needs 3 things:

Variety
Good Lighting
Lots of Flowers & Foliage

Variety

Being able to interact with different elements makes for great photos. We’re able to be more creative because we are experiencing so many different things. Your final gallery won’t feel repetitive and we also won’t have to walk that far. For an hour-long session, this is so important! Our time goes by so fast!

Hovander has a grassy field, a beautiful garden, lots of trees, and as if that wasn’t enough, Tennant Lake is across the street!

2. Great Lighting

The hour right before sunset is golden, warm, and so beautiful. Not all locations experience golden hour the same way. For example, if we are in a forest at this time, it’d be dark because the trees are blocking the sunset. Picking a location based on the time we are taking photos & knowing how the light looks around then is important. Lighting is probably the most important thing when it comes to great photos. Hovander has a lot of open space, yet still a lot of foliage to filter the light in a gorgeous & soft way.

3. Flowers & Foliage

Flowers bring such fun, playful pops of color into any photo, which I LOVE. Having really lovely green or tan foliage also adds a unique element to your photos, while also creating a soft backdrop that is so pretty.

Hovander is beautifully manicured and it feels quite special to be there. There are huge fields, a large and well-cared-for garden with ivy arbors and colorful flowers, as well as a little orchard of apple trees. I left this session absolutely in awe. I couldn’t believe a place so beautiful exists!