Chilliwack Tulip Festival Engagement Session

June 1, 2022

This session. That location. These two. Their love.

I cannot get over how absolutely head over heels in LOVE with this session I am. Seriously, I got home from their session, imported the images and I didn’t stop editing until that evening – pretty sure I clocked at least an 8 hour editing session without stopping. These two deserve the best. Suzy & Stetson are the absolute sweetest!! Their love is so strong & genuine; when you see them look at each other there is no doubt that these two were made for each other.

When I asked where they might want their engagement session to be, Suzy knew from the get-go that, if we could make it work, the tulip festival would be the perfect fit for them (Stetson is also Dutch so it was just all too perfect). If you live in & around the Fraser Valley, especially out closer to Chilliwack, I’m sure you have seen or at least heard of the beautiful tulip festivals we have out here. Usually only in bloom for a few short weeks in April, they are a huge tourist attraction and really a must-see for anyone in the area. They are stunning and the colours are just absolutely incredible. Pre-pandemic, there was 2 to choose from – one in Abbotsford (which has now relocated to the Sicamous area under the Bloom Festival name, we are sad to see it go!), and the other always-popular Chilliwack festival. With the closure of the Abbotsford one during COVID (which offered photographer-only times), we knew Chilliwack was our spot, but it left me a little hesitant to address one thing with S&S… Not only did the Chilliwack festival not offer any photographers-only times, it can be exceptionally busy. I’m talking traffic backed up onto the freeway from the parking lot near the highway exit. No one wants hundreds of people dotting the background of your engagement photos or having to trip over people to walk the rows of flowers! Because of these factors, I always highly recommend my couples opt for a sunrise time for flower festivals (most if not all of my e-sessions are typically scheduled the hour before sunset), but given that most of us are not early birds, I did not want to disappoint Suzy with this info! I was pleasantly surprised however when I was met with no hesitation – Suzy & Stetson were up for the early drive & adventure, and met me with the best smiles a photographer could ask for.

Cut to the day of, sure enough there we were bright and early in Chilliwack – arriving before the sun did to catch the first rays of morning light. I met Suzy & Stetson with Tims to keep them warm & energized for their tulip festival engagement, we grabbed a couple cozy blankets from the car and off we went. From the VERY first shot of their session, I knew this was going to be special. Maybe it was being up before the birds, or maybe it was just these two, their undeniable love, chemistry and amazing cheerful attitudes that made it that special. Either way I quickly fell in love with these two.

Tulip Festival Engagement Gallery

I can’t believe they get MARRIED this week already! I am so excited to celebrate these two and their love. In the meantime though I am elated to share one of my favourite engagement sessions from this year with you. (In the summer, the Chilliwack Tulip Festival transforms into the Sunflower Festival… So who’s next for a sunrise flower session?!)