How to Elope at Bok Tower Gardens: A Central Florida Elopement Guide

Featuring Casey and Nick

Not every love story needs a guest list. If you’re planning a Bok Tower Gardens elopement, you’re probably looking for something different: quiet, historic, genuinely beautiful. I got to see why firsthand. I met up with Casey and Nick for their post-courthouse portrait session at Bok Tower Gardens.

The Vision & Planning for a Bok Tower Gardens Elopement

Casey and Nick had already made it official. They married earlier that day at the Tampa courthouse. A big traditional wedding was never really their plan. A lot of their family lives in the Caribbean, so flying everyone in for one afternoon didn’t make sense. They still wanted something to mark the day: real photos, just the two of them, that actually felt like them.

Part of what makes a Bok Tower Gardens elopement such an easy choice is the logistics. It’s a huge, gorgeous park. General admission covers photography sessions like this one. That means you skip the separate site fees and permits many wedding venues require. If you plan to hold your ceremony on the property, that’s a separate process through Bok Tower’s wedding team. For a portrait session like Casey and Nick’s, admission alone covers you. That ease is a big reason so many Central Florida couples choose Bok Tower for their elopement photos.

Casey already had a few favorite spots in mind from an earlier visit, so we built our plan around those. After their courthouse appointment, we met up at the gardens. We had one hour to turn “we got married today” into photos they’d actually want to look back on.

It was Casey and Nick’s first time having professional photos taken together. I could tell they felt a little nervous walking in, which is completely normal! I always tell couples the same thing. You don’t need to know how to pose. You just need to be willing to be a little silly with each other. That’s exactly what happened here. Within a few minutes, they relaxed into it once I encouraged them to simply interact instead of “posing.” Some of my favorite images from the whole session came out of that shift.

Location Spotlight: Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower Gardens is a historic garden and National Historic Landmark in Lake Wales. It sits about an hour southwest of Orlando. A 205-foot Singing Tower carillon, a quiet pond, and lush, landscaped grounds make it a true Central Florida landmark.

What makes it such a rich place to shoot is the variety packed into one property. Dense, tropical foliage lines the paths throughout the park. The paths stay easy, comfortable walking, though, so nobody fights the terrain in wedding shoes. Along the way you’ll find the tower itself and the pond that surrounds it. There are also small hidden nooks tucked into greenery and florals, plus El Retiro, the property’s historic estate building. I’ve shot here many times for different sessions, and it never comes out the same way twice. It’s genuinely one of the most inspiring single locations I work in.

Admission and Getting to Bok Tower Gardens

General admission is $20 per adult. Check current rates on Bok Tower’s website, since pricing can change. You pay the admission fee at the entrance gate. From there, a scenic drive takes you to the main parking area, which has plenty of space. The main entrance has a café, restrooms, plenty of seating, and visitor information. Some weekends they also host events like live music. That’s a nice touch if you’re bringing friends or family instead of eloping just the two of you.

Best Time of Day for Bok Tower Gardens Elopement Photos

Plan your session for the first or last hour the park is open. That means early morning or late afternoon. The light is better in that window. You’re also less likely to share the path with a crowd.

Rain Plan for Your Session

Florida weather does what it wants, so keep a backup plan in mind. Covered areas sit throughout the property, and I’ve used them before. During one session, the sky opened into a thunderstorm mid-shoot. We moved into the visitor center, which stays fully covered, and still got great engagement photos for that couple.

We got lucky with Casey and Nick’s timing. It was late spring with clear, sunny weather. We caught the gardens in that last hour of golden, late-afternoon light before close. If you can plan your own session for that window, it’s worth it.

Capturing the Moments

For Casey and Nick’s session, most of my creative choices came down to movement. I gave them prompts to interact with each other in a genuine, playful way, rather than freezing into stiff poses. I mixed in a handful of intentional, editorial-style moments for variety.

Casey had already noted a few areas at Bok Tower she loved. So we headed to the grounds outside El Retiro and spent most of our session there. You don’t need to book the guided estate tour to shoot here. Regular garden admission covers the exterior grounds.

As I do with every shoot, I arrived early to scope out the specific spots we’d use. I put together a loose game plan for how the hour would flow. I also sent Casey a mood board a few days beforehand. That gave her a clear sense of the look and feel we were going for before we even met up.

The best part of a session like this is how fast the nerves disappear. That happens as soon as a couple stops thinking about the camera. Casey and Nick spent that last hour of light just being with each other. They laughed, walked the garden paths, and leaned into easy, unscripted moments. Those are the ones that end up being everyone’s favorite photos anyway. No big production, no audience, just two people who got married that morning, finally able to exhale.

That’s really the heart of an elopement or courthouse-plus-portraits day. You get all the meaning of a wedding day, without the pressure of performing for a crowd.

Ready to Plan Your Own Bok Tower Gardens Elopement?

Maybe a big traditional wedding isn’t calling your name. It could be logistics, family scattered across the world, or just wanting something quieter and more you. Either way, a courthouse ceremony paired with a golden-hour portrait session might be exactly right for you. I’d love to help you plan a Bok Tower Gardens elopement of your own, just like Casey and Nick’s. Check out my elopement services and reach out to start planning.