The Denver Botanic Gardens is a very special location for Colorado engagement photography. When you step inside you can walk through spaces that feel like Italy, France, Japan, Costa Rica, and more. It is so easy to get to, and then you can go back to enjoy this special place where you celebrated your engagement. Also, they have a fantastic outdoor cafe, The Hive, that I recommend to everyone! Weekday evenings are particularly special because they are pretty quiet and feel very peaceful.
I had such a great session with Sarah and Matt. We got to enjoy so much of the gardens with all the early spring blooms–irises, lilacs, roses, peonies and more.
Sarah shares, “We met through my little brother. I visited my brother at college in Troy, New York, for a Halloween party in the Fall of 2019. I met Matt at the party. He was dating someone else at the time, but we hit it off as friends pretty quickly. We spent the next couple months becoming better friends. In March of 2020, he had been single for a couple months, and we decided to go to Toronto, California, together for a few days during spring break. Though we both swear we went into the trip without any intentions, it became pretty clear that we had feelings for each other. We hadn’t acted on or voiced these feelings during the trip until I finally spilled my feelings on the last night before heading back home. We have been together ever since!”
Photographing Sarah and Matt was really easy. Their love for each other was undeniable and radiating out of them! I asked them both what they love most about each other:
“I love his sense of humor and the way we can be silly with each other. We make each other laugh everyday, even on the really crappy days. I love that he is curious about the world and wants to travel. We’ve had so much fun exploring parts of the world already, and I can’t wait for more trips together. I mostly just love that he’s my best friend and feels like home.” – Sarah
“I love that she’s kind and caring for the people around her, and so sweet and patient with me. She brightens my day when work was long or something didn’t go as intended. We can also sit in a silence together that’s calming and easy, and makes things feel so much more secure.” -Matt
Matt shares, “I proposed while we were in Costa Rica. It wasn’t too much of a surprise as we had been ring shopping together prior and going on a 5-year anniversary trip in a foreign country is a bit of a giveaway. We had gone on an excursion from our hotel to northwestern Costa Rica where we thought we would be going to Arenal Volcano National Park and hot springs nearby. However, it turned out we were in a spa resort near the volcano instead! We tried sneaking off from our tour group and going into the national park but our Uber arrived just after the last entrance to the park. We went back to the resort and we found a narrow little secluded part in front of the volcano away from other spa-goers where I got down on a knee and proposed.
We haven’t formally celebrated our engagement yet. We came back from Costa Rica and immediately moved apartments and began venue touring. We made a nice dinner once we were settled in and opened the wine we brought back from Italy that we saved for a special occasion.”
Matt shares, “We debated a few different locations for our engagement photo session like Roxborough State Park, Lookout Mountain, and the Botanic Gardens. Knowing we wanted to have our wedding in the mountains or near enough to the mountains, we turned to the Botanic Gardens because we figured we would have beautiful views of a lot of different types of flora while we were there. The Botanic Gardens are a place we’ve been numerous times for birthdays, or fun dates in general, and we both love the calming atmosphere that the gardens have.”
The couple will be getting married next fall. Sarah adds, “We are getting married on October 9, 2026, at Boulder Creek by Wedgewood Weddings in Boulder, CO. We toured 5-6 venues total, but this was the only one that felt like US. It’s right on Boulder Creek and nestled into the canyon. You’re surrounded by trees and mountains there. We want a nature-inspired, rustic, and cozy feel to our day, and we definitely found it. Most of our family and friends will be coming from out-of-state, so we also wanted a venue that felt like Colorado. We want to show them why we’ve built a home and life together here. While we have lots and lots of planning to do, I am truly most excited to be marrying my person and getting to spend the rest of my life with him!”
Matt feels the same way. He adds, “I’m most excited to get married to my best friend in front of our closest friends and family. Sharing that special moment with the people we love most is going to be really, really exciting.”
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