Cultural Gardens and Art Museum Engagement | Hely and Kirtan

Hely and Kirtan chose the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and the Cleveland Museum of Art for their engagement session. The gardens are green and quiet, the museum is stone and shadow, and between the two they had room for the whole of their story.

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens

The Cultural Gardens work well for engagement photos because they are calm in the morning, with fountains, paths, and leaves moving in the wind. Hely and Kirtan wore the clothing of their Indian heritage, Hely in an ivory lehenga that caught the light and Kirtan in a sherwani that held its own against the green. They moved through the gardens as if they belonged there.

The fountains ran, the paths guided their steps, and we photographed a run of small moments: a fountain, a pathway, a touch of hands. Nothing needed to be directed. They looked at each other and we followed.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

As the day went on we moved to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the couple changed. Hely wore a black dress that was elegant without saying too much, and Kirtan wore a sharp black and white suit. They stood against the columns and stone while the setting sun cast long shadows across the facade.

The pace slowed here. Their steps were deliberate and the frames were as still as the stone around them. The feeling was different from the gardens, quieter but just as sure, and the museum’s grand front framed it well.

What We Kept

Hely and Kirtan gave us their time, and we found what we were looking for in every glance and every touch. The session had less to do with the gardens or the museum than with how they hold onto each other and how they smile when they think nobody is watching. The gardens and the museum were a good place for that to be seen.

If you are planning an engagement session in Cleveland and you like the idea of a garden in the morning and stone architecture at sunset, we would be glad to plan one with you.