Ritu and Rohit’s Bok Tower Gardens engagement session happened on a January afternoon, when Central Florida light goes low and gold and stays that way longer than you expect. Ritu wore a rust-brown belted midi dress and Rohit a light blue shirt. Those are earthy, quiet colors, and with the tower’s pink-and-gray stone, the dark water and the pink blooms along the paths, the whole gallery came out looking like it was painted with one palette.
The Singing Tower
You don’t walk up to the Singing Tower so much as get pulled toward it. We started on the garden path with the tower framed straight up between the palms, and I kept them small in the frame on purpose. When a building is that tall, scale is the story. At the reflection pool, the tower sits in the water upside down. We finished this part at the fence with the stone behind them, then closer at the edge of the pool, where Rohit wrapped her up and she leaned all the way into him.
Through the Garden Paths
Away from the tower, the gardens turn shady and close. Pink blooms lined the paths, so I shot through them and let them blur into soft color in the foreground while Ritu looked back over her shoulder. They walked hand in hand down a dark, winding path with the light coming through in patches. Near a pond, surrounded by tall palms and ferns, they stood still for a portrait that looks like it could be in a botanical print.
Golden Hour on the Lawns
By late afternoon the open lawns glowed and the trees went gold at the edges. They sat together on a bench looking out over the grounds, backs to me, the gardens stretching out in front of them. Then a forehead kiss in full sun, and a lift that ended in laughing. The last frames were by the old stone wall at the pond, his hand in hers, hers on his chest.
Planning a Bok Tower Gardens Engagement Session
Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales is an easy day trip from Tampa and one of the best garden locations in Florida for engagement photos. It’s a National Historic Landmark, home to the Singing Tower carillon, and the rules are refreshingly simple:
- No special photo permit: professional engagement portraits are allowed with regular paid admission ($25 for adults). Everyone pays, including your photographer.
- Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m. After-hours photoshoots aren’t permitted, so in summer we plan around the light we can get. Winter afternoons, like Ritu and Rohit’s in January, give you golden hour inside opening hours.
- No reserved spots: the gardens stay open to everyone. Stay on the paths, and no drones, balloons, glitter or confetti. Small handheld signs and natural or dried petals are fine.
- Proposals: they’re welcome, but not inside the Yellin gates or the Singing Tower itself.
- Colors: earth tones, rust, sage and dusty blue look at home against the tower stone and the greenery.
Prefer the city? See Raj & Priya’s engagement across Downtown Tampa, the University of Tampa and the Hindu Temple of Florida.
FAQ
Do you need a permit for engagement photos at Bok Tower Gardens?
No special permit is needed. Professional portrait sessions are allowed with regular paid admission for everyone in the party, including the photographer.
What’s the best time of year for Bok Tower Gardens photos?
Winter is a favorite. Golden hour lands within opening hours, and the gardens are full of color.
Can we bring props?
Small handheld signs and natural or dried petals are allowed. Balloons, confetti, glitter, drones and large props are not.
Ritu and Rohit, thank you for a golden January afternoon. If a garden engagement session is calling you, check my availability.