Curtis Hall & Arboretum Engagement Session | Emily + Joe | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer

Emily and Joe picked the last day of summer without planning it that way. We shot on September 21st, and the equinox landed the next morning, so their engagement session turned out to be the final evening of the season. As a Curtis Arboretum engagement photographer, I could not have scripted better timing.

They wanted somewhere green and open that did not require a long drive or a reservation. Curtis Arboretum in Wyncote fits that exactly. It is free, it is public, and most couples in Montgomery County have no idea it is there.

The grounds were the Cyrus Curtis estate, given to Cheltenham Township in 1937 by his daughter as a tribute to her father, with landscape work attributed to the Olmsted firm. What is left is more than forty acres of rolling hills, two ponds, and over fifty varieties of tree, with Curtis Hall, the old ballroom of the mansion, still standing at the center.

Sunset was right around 6:56 that evening, so we had golden hour from about 6:15 on. The hills are what make this location work at that hour. When the sun drops low across open, sloping ground, you get long light raking sideways through the trees instead of flat light from overhead, and the whole place turns gold for about twenty minutes.

Something I tell every couple is that an engagement session is not really about the photos. It is about getting the awkward part over with while the stakes are low. Partway through the evening, Emily and Joe stopped thinking about what to do with their hands and started just being with each other. That shift is the whole point.

By their wedding day, I will not be a stranger with a camera during the most emotional hours of their life. They know how I work, and I know what makes them laugh.

If you are looking for a Montgomery County engagement session that feels open and unhurried, Curtis Arboretum is worth a look. See more in my Engagement Galleries or read how I approach the full day on my weddings page. I photograph couples across Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County, the Main Line, Delaware County, Chester County, and South Jersey. Reach out here.

Location: Curtis Arboretum, 1250 W. Church Road, Wyncote, PA 19095 — cheltenhamtownship.org