San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Session

In today’s blog post, I’m going to tell you the tale of a bridal portrait session that started off in a panic, and ended up with beautiful images. While the background was not what the bride – nor I – had originally hoped for, it all turned out well in the end. Journey with me now as I take you behind the scenes as I planned the shoot starting with my initial location scouting trip, the creation of a vision board for my client, and then arriving at a new plan of attack. Along the way, I’ll also give you some insight into how you can plan your own winterized bridal portrait photo shoot at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. So, get ready to dig in – we are going to get our hands dirty in this blog post.

San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Photo Shoot – Wedding Package Details

Let me start off by giving you a few details about the beautiful bride, Natalie, and her upcoming wedding. She will be marrying her beloved Austin in March at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Their ceremony will be under the wisteria arbor, with a cocktail party following on the patio next door. As part of their wedding package, the garden grants them a free photo session.

This means the couple is allowed to use the gardens for a photo shoot on a day of their choosing. There are no restrictions on the number of people allowed as part of the photo shoot, so this photo shoot could very well include a bridal party. But the main point is that the photo permit fees are waived for the session. You have full use of the garden, and are allowed to take photos throughout.

San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Photo Shoot – The Goal

While most couples would use this complimentary photo session for an engagement session, Natalie and Austin had already taken photos with me in downtown Boerne. You can check out these photos in my blog post here. Natalie wanted to have her own portrait session before the wedding. Her goal, in her words, were to ‘take some pretty photos with a pretty background.’ Let’s remember these famous words.

Rose Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Rose Garden

San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Photo Shoot – The Planning

Winter is a tricky time to take photos. In addition to the temperature being up and down in Texas, you also have the issue of what you’re going to find on the ground. I knew that there wouldn’t be a lot in bloom when I was going to visit the garden for my venue check, but I really wasn’t prepared for what I found one week prior to our shoot.

Fountain in the Rose Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Rose Garden fountain

I had specifically waited as late as I could for my location scouting trip so that, hopefully, there would be something growing. Sadly, the garden was in a heightened state of brown. In short, I was looking at acres of nuclear apocalypse with a few patches of parsley in the old-fashioned gardens.

Amphitheater covered in brown vines at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Amphitheater

I spoke with the front desk, and basically the gardeners had decided to wait to plant anything colorful for fear of a second freeze killing any new vegetation. I suppose that makes sense, but in the meantime, there really wasn’t anything worthwhile in the background to view. Natalie had been hoping for colorful flowers, and this was not to be.

Wisteria Arbor at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Wisteria Arbor

San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Photo Shoot – A New Plan

It was time to pivot. Since color was not going to be the order of the day and flowers were not going to save us, I had to rely on the garden architecture. I photographed the areas that Natalie had originally wanted to focus on: the wisteria arbor, rose garden, and old-fashioned gardens. These photos proved that, sadly, these gardens were virtually unusable for this photo session. As you can see in this photo of the wisteria arbor, there is absolutely nothing growing on the vines. Likewise, the old-fashioned gardens have been cut back to nothing. Instead of the colorful flowers, the gardens have been set with vegetables. Yes, those are rows of parsley and other herbs. Tasty, but not very photogenic.

Old-fashioned gardens planted with low-growing foliage at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Old-Fashioned Garden

Instead, I reimagined the shoot around the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, Palm and Cycad Pavilion, Fern Grotto, the Overlook, and if time allowed, the Kumamoto En Japanese Garden.

While the Lucile Halsell Conservatory would be very bright during our photo shoot, the side of the pond by the greenhouse was sheltered by some palms. This gave us enough shade for quality images.

Moving into the Palm and Cycad Pavilion itself was another great opportunity because of the filtered light and greenery. From the staircase to the epic mezzanine level, the photos in this greenhouse are stylized and absolutely not contingent on a colorful, floral background.

Lucile Halsell Conservatory at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Lucile Halsell Conservatory

Fern Grotto at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Fern Grotto

Beware the Heat and Humidity

One other greenhouse I used was the Fern Grotto. This greenhouse was a great source of unique photos. Note, however, that the temperatures inside both of these greenhouses pose considerable challenges to a bridal portrait session.

For our photo shoot, I had a full ‘glam squad’ with me. Joining me during the session was Natalie’s sister and her mother. These ladies brought with them fans to keep Natalie and her gorgeous dress cool. We also limited our time inside the greenhouses as much as possible due to the heat and humidity.

I warned Natalie ahead of time about the humidity in the Fern Grotto and the heat at the top of the Palm and Cycad Pavilion, and we all came prepared. Preparedness is the secret to a successful shoot.

Other Location Options

A portrait session with a full wedding dress that you are bravely trying to keep clean moves at a much slower pace than a normal engagement shoot. As such, we did not have time to take on any other locations besides the conservatory area. But that said, here are my suggestions for other portrait locations in case the garden is not looking it’s best.

Stone ramp up to Overlook at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in February — Overlook

The Overlook

The Overlook has the advantage of a stunning view over the city. No matter what it may look like on the ground, the view from above is still going to be sublime. My original plan was to take a few photos at the Overlook itself right across from the amphitheater. We would then move to the Overlook structure itself and take photos in the winding staircase ramp up to the top of the structure.

Top of the Greenhouses

One discounted area is the roof of the greenhouses. There is actually a walkway if you go up the stairs and to the right that stands above the entire greenhouse complex. For photos, I would use the walkway itself and the area next to the wall of the Palm and Cycad Pavilion to take some wide shots up against the greenhouse wall.

Kumamoto En Japanese Garden

I’ll be honest, the Kumamoto En Japanese Garden is not looking that great in winter either, but it does have some architecture that saves it. From the precious little stream to the azumaya gazebo in the back of the garden, there are enough structures to make quality images in this garden, despite a lack of colorful landscaping.

Lone Bench in the Rose Garden

This is perhaps the saddest photo from our shoot. This is the one area in the entire San Antonio Botanical Gardens that I could find with colorful flowers. At the entrance to the Rose Garden is a bench with planters set with a few tulips. This is where I placed Natalie and where I took a few colorful flower shots. Hey, I’ll take whatever the garden gives me.

San Antonio Botanical Garden Bridal Portrait Tips

Planning

Keep track of the garden’s hours. In general, the hours of operation for the San Antonio Botanical Garden during the winter are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, hours change seasonally, during the holidays, and at certain times of the year for special events. If you are planning an afternoon shoot, keep track of when the garden is closing so that you’re not cut short on time.

Time your session according to the sun. Speaking of time, you want to schedule your session either early in the morning or late in the day. The key is to have the sun be as low on the horizon as possible so that you don’t have harsh highlights. Having the sun directly overhead also creates ugly shadows under the eyes of your subject. In Natalie’s case, she had scheduled her hair and makeup trial for the afternoon, so we could not schedule her session for the morning. Instead, we started the shoot at 3:30 p.m. so that we would get to the garden as late as possible for the garden closure at 5:00 p.m.

Prepare ahead of time for heat and humidity. Natalie’s sister and mother were quick with the fans to keep her cool and dry during our shoot. When you’re wearing a wedding dress and a veil, things can get heated quickly. To keep your bride looking her best, make sure you have sweat rags and tissues at hand plus whatever fans you have available. Texas heat is no joke, and no one needs to look sweaty in photos.

What to Bring

Bring your own ‘Oh, shit’ kit. I always bring a bag of items that I lovingly call my ‘Oh, shit’ kit. This includes stain remover, wardrobe tape, pins, bobby pins, and a number of other emergency items that can save a bride on her wedding day. Luckily, I didn’t need any of these items during this photo shoot, but the kit was handy to have on hand. For a full list of everything that I carry in my kit, check out this blog post. I’ll be updating that list soon.

Plan to have to prop yourself up. Makeup and hair wise, that is. Natalie’s makeup stood the test of our photo shoot (shout out to Love, Lipstick and Lashes, her makeup artist). However, we did spot reapply her makeup, and I was judicious about making sure that her hair did not get out of line during the photo shoot. When you’re moving from shot to shot and working in humid conditions, such as the Fern Grotto, you can expect to have to reapply make up here and there. Be prepared and bring your supplies with you. I’ll note here that I always bring a large mirror with me to all of my photo shoots which clients find helpful.

What to Wear

Wear comfortable shoes. This tip goes for any photo shoot at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. You do not realize how much walking you will have to do at the garden. The garden covers 41 acres. While Natalie’s photo shoot was concentrated around the greenhouses, we still had to get from the entrance to the Lucile Halsell Conservatory which is quite a trek. Underneath that gorgeous wedding dress she is wearing a pair of white Birkenstock sandals. Unless you are going to be showing your feet in a dress that goes down to the floor, do not wear heels. Save your soles and wear something comfortable. Besides the comfort factor, you’ll also be walking over uneven terrain, and heels are not the same as garden clogs.

Come to the shoot already dressed. Kind reminder that the garden does not allow for any wardrobe changes on the property. You will need to arrive at the garden already in your dress. We did put in Natalie’s veil, but that was it.

Final Thoughts

After my visit to the garden, I put together my Pinterest board and sent it to Natalie. She texted me back completely heartbroken. The photo shoot was not going to be her dream day. However, I was able to salvage the moment by repositioning our focus from foliage to form.

The key point here is that I came into the photo shoot prepared. If Natalie had seen the wisteria arbor in all of its brown sadness for the first time during our photo shoot, she would have had a heart attack. But instead of tears, she was ready for it and we ended up having a great day.

For those of you planning a similar photo shoot in winter, I urge you to plan ahead. Most people have a hard time envisioning a space exactly how it will look in winter. When everyone thinks of the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, they no doubt think back to the colorful days of spring. You need to visit the venue ahead of time to know exactly what you are in for. Make sure you and your photographer have put together a game plan that works around any background challenges to turn these challenges into strengths. We did, and I think the results speak for themselves.

Enjoy the images, and as always, I will have more photo adventures for you next week!

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Looking to say ‘I do’ in Austin or San Antonio? Drop me a line and let’s chat about how I can help you. I have hourly rates, and all photo shoots include editing and high-resolution files.

To view more images from my wedding photography portfolio, please visit my website – KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com