STORY | KEUKENHOF

An Engaged Couple from Panama at Keukenhof

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Engaged couple standing beside the wide trunk of a giant tree at Keukenhof, a long row of red tulips in front and fresh leaves above

Valeria and Andrés got engaged in Panama in December, and her ring had been waiting for its first real photos ever since. In the first week of May, on a trip through Europe, the engaged couple from Panama gave themselves one afternoon among the tulips. Early May is the last stretch of the season, yet the garden still had plenty to show them.

They booked a tulip photoshoot at Keukenhof for the two of them. Before the day, I planned a short route past the beds that were still in full bloom that week.

An Engaged Couple Under a Giant Tree

We met at half past four by a tree so wide that the two of them looked small beside its trunk. In front of it, a long row of red tulips still stood in full color. Early May at Keukenhof looks different from April, because the trees have their full leaves by then. So the garden feels greener, and the shade under the branches is deeper.

Woman in a pale blush coat smiling up at her fiancé in a dark coat under a big tree, red tulips sharp in the foreground

Valeria wore a pale blush coat over a white top, and Andrés a dark coat with an open white shirt. Against the red tulips, both colors looked calm. For the first frames, I simply let them stand close and talk.

A Sapphire Ring in a Dark Tulip

A little further on, white tulips grew along a dark green hedge. They sat down among them, and Valeria rested her head on Andrés’s shoulder.

Engaged couple sitting close among white tulips by a dark green hedge, her head on his shoulder and both smiling

Her ring holds a deep blue sapphire in a circle of small diamonds. To let the stone glow, I set it in the heart of a nearly black tulip. Next, I tried a dark red one, where a shaft of sun lit up the yellow flowers behind it.

Sapphire ring with a halo of small diamonds resting in the dark heart of a nearly black tulip at Keukenhof

Dark red tulip with the sapphire ring set inside, yellow flowers glowing in a shaft of sun among the green leaves — The ring in a dark tulip, a quarter to five

A Couple from Panama by a Green Hedge

In front of a clipped hedge, one bed held tulips in every color at once: pink, white, orange and yellow. Andrés dipped Valeria back as if they were dancing. Closer in, she laid her ring hand on his chest. Then he kissed her cheek, and she pulled a face that made all three of us laugh.

Man dipping his fiancée backward in front of a clipped green hedge, a bed of pink, white and orange tulips below them

Close portrait of an engaged couple by a bed of mixed tulips at Keukenhof, her hand with the sapphire ring on his chest

Man kissing his fiancée on the cheek while she pulls a playful face, mixed tulips and a green hedge behind them

Long Shadows on a May Path

By five, the sun stood low enough to stretch their shadows across a path between the flower beds. They stopped halfway for a kiss. Later, they simply walked toward me, talking and laughing as if I wasn’t there.

The engaged couple kissing on a sunlit garden path at Keukenhof, their long shadows falling across the path toward a tulip bed

Engaged couple standing close in the middle of a garden path in May sun, tulip beds on both sides and tall trees behind

Laughing couple walking hand in hand along a path between red tulips and mixed spring beds, sun through the trees

Under a second big tree, red and pink tulips grew so thick that they filled the whole front of the frame. Valeria leaned into Andrés, and then he hugged her from behind while both of them laughed into the camera.

Woman resting against her fiancé’s chest beside a broad tree trunk at Keukenhof, red and pink tulips filling the front

Man hugging his fiancée from behind among red and pink tulips, both laughing toward the camera, a sunny lawn behind

Blue Grape Hyacinths at Keukenhof

On a wooden bench above beds of pink, red and yellow tulips, they finally sat down. Afterwards, we walked to the open lawns, where rivers of blue grape hyacinths wind between yellow and red tulips under tall trees. In that frame, the two of them are tiny, far in the distance.

The engaged couple on a wooden bench above beds of pink, red and yellow tulips at Keukenhof, a tall hedge and trees behind

Wide view of rivers of blue grape hyacinths and yellow tulips on a sunny lawn, the couple small under tall trees

Sapphire engagement ring resting on a stem of blue grape hyacinth, the background soft blue, green and dark — Grape hyacinths and the ring, half past five

The ring had its last moment on a stem of grape hyacinth. Then the three of us took a selfie on the path, with the sun in the trees above us. For an engaged couple from Panama, it was one more afternoon of tulips, right at the end of the season.

Selfie of a smiling woman with glasses and the engaged couple on a garden path at Keukenhof, sunlit trees above

Curious how the weeks of the season differ? My guide on when to visit Keukenhof for photos walks you through them.

Celebrating an engagement of your own? Discover how a tulip photoshoot at Keukenhof works.