Hawaii Mountain Engagement Photo Session | Oahu | Stephanie + Craig

Written By Breanna Nelson

Stephanie and Craig’s engagement session on Oahu was the definition of adventure! We started off at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens, Hiked up the Crouching Lion trail, and ended our evening at Kahana Bay Beach!

When Steph contacted me about doing an engagement shoot we talked about how she and Craig got engaged on one of the most dangerous hikes in Hawaii (Stairway to Heaven hike on Oahu), so I knew they would be up for an adventure! The word adventure perfectly describes our day together. Keep reading to see why…

We began our session at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens. This is a must see if you’re planning on visiting Oahu. Majestic cliff-like mountains, one of Hawaii’s few lakes, and lush greenery as far as the eye can see! If you’re lucky you’ll have weather like we had, overcast and only 2 downpours to avoid!

Couple embracing in the sun in front of lush green mountains
Couple Sitting on bench facing the lush green mountains
Couple bushing noses in front of the cliff-like mountains
Couples hands interlaced showing the bride’s engagement ring in front of lush green mountains
Couple embracing on white bench at ho’omaluhia botanical gardens

Normally during sunset clouds are not ideal for shooting pictures in, but because we had an adventure session scheduled, we started around 2pm, so the partially cloudy skies were the perfect weather to shoot some gorgeous photos in! I love how the mountains perfectly complement them. However, this being the rainy side of Oahu we did have to dodge a little bit of rain. After we hid under a bush for a minute it stopped! Horray! Then I snapped some photos of them in one of my favorite areas of the gardens.

Couple embracing in front of cloudy lush green cliff-like mountains on Oahu
Bride and Groom walking hand-in-hand at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens on Oahu
Close up shot of the bride’s ring while hugging her fiance

After that it was off to a lesser known area of the gardens— and I’m not sure why the secret hasn’t gotten out because it is absolutely beautiful! We definitely lucked out in multiple ways: 1. The weather was gloomy so the park was not crowded whatsoever. 2. It only sprinkled when we didn’t have shelter 3. When we did get caught in a torrential DOWNPOUR, we were luckily right next to a picnic covered stall for picnics! After we recovered from that we walked the rest of the way down to the lake and got some amazing photos there.

Bride and Groom holding hands in front of Hoomaluhia lake and mountains, staring in opposite directions.
couple leaning in together in front of the oahu lake
Couple leaning against the palm trees together.
Couple walking together at hoomaluhia lake
Craig kissing stephanie’s forehead in front of the lake and mountains

After we finished up at the lake we made the short walk up to our vehicles to head over to the crouching lion trail head. If you’ve never attempted this trail before be aware that it is not for beginners. In fact, people have died hiking this trail that involves scrambling and relying on questionable ropes to make it to the top. I would definitely only reccommend going to the top if you knew the weather would be on your side the whole time and there hadn’t been rain recently. The road was dry and the forecast showed only clouds so we decided to head up the trail!

White Jeep Wrangler parked at the trailhead
Groom hiking through thick foliage at crouching lion
Stephanie and Craig hiking through thick trees and bushes at Crouching Lion
View of the cliffs and ocean from the top of crouching lion

We scrambled up the steep and slippery hillside and made our way to the top. Worth it? I might be biased but.. YES! I’ll let the photos we got up there speak for themselves.

Stephanie and Craig Embracing at the top of Crouching Lion
Bre-Rae-Photo-117.JPG
Stephanie and Craig embracing and looking out over the cliffside to the ocean
Craig dipping Stephanie on the cliff overlooking Kahana Bay
Craig lifting up Stephanie and spinning on the cliff overlooking Kahana Bay Beach at Crouching Lion

We really only just scratched the surface of all the amazing photos we could have gotten up there but we didn’t want the weather to turn on us, so we played it safe and stared heading down toward the beach to get some sunset photos there to end the night.

Couple walking hand in hand on the beach with the full moon in the background
couple sitting and embracing on the beach facing the ocean
Couple smiling, doing a piggy back ride on the beach
couple running holding hands down the beach with lush green mountains

Stephanie & Craig,

Thank you for sharing your love story with me and letting me be a part of such a magical, adventurous day together! Until we meet again!

XO,

Bre

Couple embracing under trees with a leg popped up
Bride and groom sitting side by side at kahana bay beach
stephanie and craig kissing on the beach

Words from the Bride-to-Be:

Our Love Story
We met in February of 2010 when I was in college in Georgia, he lived in Ohio. We started texting and calling each other almost non-stop until I came home for the summer. We were in a long distance relationship for 2.5 years. It was rough at times but it made those moments we did get to spend together that much more special. I moved back to Ohio after graduation to be with him and we've been by each others' side ever since. We both have a passion for traveling and exploring new places, I guess we get it from when we were traveling back and forth in order to see each other. In November of 2018 we traveled to Hawaii with our friends and we got the epic chance to hike to the Stairway to Heaven. It had been on our bucket list of things to do for quite a while and we were stoked! We went up with a group of people from all over the world and had the most amazing time ever! At the top, the clouds had moved in so we got comfortable in the tower and enjoyed an amazing dinner along with wine altogether. After dinner, the sun was starting to set so we hiked down below the clouds to a lookout and that's when Craig popped the question. It was the greatest day ever, even being covered in sweat and mud I wouldn't have had it any other way.

What We Love to Do Together
Everything that involves being active and enjoying the outdoors. We love hiking, biking, going on runs...if you couldn't tell it's hard for us to sit back and relax!

What I love Most About My Fiance
I like that he's tall so I can always find him when I get lost in a store or crowd lol...he's very loving and compassionate, always wanting the best for us.

The Crouching Lion/ Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens/ Kahana Bay Beach Engagement Adventure Session Vendors:

Photography Provided by : Bre Rae Photography
Makeup and Hair Provided by: Karla Jordan

Breanna Nelson
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