Elizabeth Park (Hartford, CT)

A Fine Day at Elizabeth Park

Do you need a free place for a romantic and gorgeous photoshoot location? Look no further than Elizabeth Park, located in Hartford, CT. This park is on the National Register of Historic Places and has just over 100 acres of formal gardens. We spent our time in two of the 5-6 gardens on-site, but there are parts of the park that continue to bloom from May-October.  There are multiple entrances and plenty of parking.

It was the first weekend of June, and we had planned a picnic with our friends/family inside the rose gardens. Of course Pahl and I had to get dressed up for the occasion. The dress I'm wearing is another fantastic dress set from Chinese indie brand Miss Point. [You'll notice I have a thing for this brand]. The official name of this piece is Elegant Flower Wall Lolita JSK Dress. I fell in love with this dress right away, as it reminded me of things I found from my grandmother (she loved light blue/light turquoise) and the print evoked a vintage romantic feeling. The set came with the JSK, a flower brooch, and the waist belt. I additionally purchased the matching shirt (in ivory), cardigan (ivory long sleeve), and a bonnet (large straw hat) all from Miss Point. Other things I'm wearing include a pair of leather oxfords I bought on the clearance rack at DSW over 8 years ago and a pair of ivory below the knee lace socks. My classic ivory lace parasol is used in almost every picture to protect me from the sun (and look extra romantic).  One interesting thing is that I'm not wearing any makeup whatsoever on this day! I guess it goes with that country romantic feeling!

Pahl is also wearing oxfords, a bright red and black smoking jacket, an earthy colored paisley waistcoat with matching striped pants, an Alice in Wonderland themed bow tie, and a straw boaters hat. Again it's kind of like that time we went to Tea With Tracy--he's got the saturated warm color vibe while I have the neutral cool color vibe of the same general whimsical romantic feeling. As a side note, this dress from Miss Point I had purchased the evening before our first date. I showed it to him and he very much liked it. I thought he was just being nice...but it turns out he's just as much into dressing up in costumes as I am!

Elizabeth Park is probably most well-known for their rose arches. These are in the Helen S. Kaman Rose Garden. The rose archways, only bloom mid to late June.  As you can see, in early June the arches were not really blooming...yet. But it certainly added an otherworldly feeling between my vintage looking outfit and the tall archways. If not for my mini backpack, it would seem as if this photo was taken 100 years ago. 

My friend Sarah enjoying the fragrance of roses in the Helen S. Kaman Rose Garden that also match her outfit.

My friend Sarah is in the same garden that I am in above (with the arches). There are rows and rows of different types of roses planted all over this garden. You can get an idea of the scale a little bit more from Sarah's picture. The rows of roses continue to bloom into October. 

In the very middle of this garden is a Ghibli-esque "Rustic Summer House", which is made of cedar and is covered with Virginia Creeper. You can kind of see how the archways meet on the four sides of this structure and go outwards from that point. This is one of the largest gardens on the property and you will find a lot of people posing in this garden for various photo shoots. I don't believe this girl was posing, but it was hard to get a shot without anyone in it at all. While I was there, I witnessed many varieties of photoshoots including an engagement as well as a maternity shoot. People visiting the park were respectful of one another and didn't linger too long in choice photo areas. 

Here I am in the Heritage Rose Garden. This garden carries some exceptionally old varieties of roses, some going all the way back to 1240 (crusader times)! The roses in this garden only bloom once in early to mid June and are exceptionally fragrant. Sarah had been to Elizabeth Park many times, but it was her first time being able to witness the Heritage Garden in bloom. I absolutely loved the stone walls in this garden as well as the romantic petals strewn about. If anything, this garden I felt truly went the best with my dress!

Overall, it was an incredible experience! This was also the second time I dressed in elegant lolita this year just for fun! I really enjoy wearing the fashion. I find it fun and appropriate for a variety of activities, especially for visiting historical places, museums, and going out to tea or picnics.