Camille & Brandon’s Japanese-Inspired Hartley Botanica Wedding, Published in Wedding Chicks

On this warm late-August day in Somis, the tree-lined gardens of this Hartley Botanica wedding felt like a reprieve from the Southern California heat. Every corner of the venue felt like an oasis, green and well kept, a secret garden with shade everywhere you need it.

Camille and Brandon’s wedding at Hartley Botanica was recently featured on Wedding Chicks. I drove up to Somis from Los Angeles for it, my first time as a Hartley Botanica wedding photographer. I shot the wedding with a mix of digital and analog film from my Contax 645, Leica R8, and Olympus MJU-II.

Camille and Brandon

Brandon first met Camille at a church summer camp. They stayed in touch for years before the timing finally lined up, and then the first eight years of their relationship was long-distance. With Brandon in Los Angeles and Camille in San Francisco, they traded long weekends between the two cities before Brandon proposed to Camille at Lake Tahoe.

A year before this celebration, the two eloped at Hakone Gardens, and the quiet, modern Japanese aesthetic became their design inspiration at the larger wedding to follow at Hartley Botanica.

Camille is Japanese-American, and the thread wove through their wedding details: ikebana arrangements she and her family built themselves, origami cranes folded and placed on the menus, a palette of greens and soft whites that let the garden sing naturally.

The bridal and groom suites at the wedding venue open straight onto the gardens, which is where Camille and Brandon took their getting-ready photos, surrounded by bamboo, palm trees, and their best friends.

The Ceremony at Hartley Botanica

The wisteria over the aisle was a DIY installation, hung by the family the day before the wedding. It turned an already lush garden into something that felt a little otherworldly, like a step into a storybook. The couple saved their first look for the aisle, with Brandon wiping away tears as Camille and her parents walked toward him.

Portraits on Film and Digital

We walked the pathways at Hartley Botanica after the wedding ceremony, under the palms and bamboo, circling the fountain and taking portraits of the newlyweds along the way. These quiet minutes between the vows and rejoining their family for the reception were a breath of fresh air. And with the light filtering softly through the trees, and the couple’s ease with each other, the photos basically took themselves.

The Reception

Cocktail hour spilled across the lawn, and the reception moved under the lights as the sky darkened. Command Performance handled dinner, Bella Dia Weddings coordinated flawlessly, and LA Street Tacos were the perfect late-night bite. The sweetheart table, dressed in Camille’s own ikebana, was one of my favorite design elements of the night.

The Highlight Film

Our video team filmed alongside the photography all day, so the film and gallery tell the same story from two angles.

About Hartley Botanica

Hartley Botanica is a private botanical garden in Somis, in Ventura County, about one hour north of Los Angeles. It’s a working nursery as much as a wedding venue, with a koi pond, mature trees, stone pathways, and getting-ready spaces that open onto the garden grounds. Golden hour there is spectacular, when the canopy filters the lights and the sunset lights the lawn. For couples who want a garden wedding in Southern California, it’s the complete wedding venue package.

What Made This Hartley Botanica Wedding Work

Having a wedding coordinator to run the day is one of the best things that a couple can invest in, and Bella Dia Weddings did a phenomenal job. Details made by hand always photograph with emotion. A venue with lots of shade, especially on a hot Southern California day, is always welcome. And a couple being on the same page about exactly what kind of wedding they wanted to have—in Brandon and Camille’s case, a big party with emotional touch points—is the biggest indicator that a wedding will be phenomenal. As Camille said, “We just love to host a good party!”

“On the day of the wedding, Pam and her team helped to ease the nerves. There was a calming presence whenever we were shooting and they captured the night beautifully.”

– Brandon & Camille

As Seen In Wedding Chicks

This wedding was featured by Wedding Chicks in October 2026. You can read the full feature here, and see more published work on my press page.

The Vendor Team

Venue | Hartley Botanica
Coordination | Bella Dia Weddings
Catering | Command Performance Catering
Makeup | Samantha Krebs
Photo Booth | Stay Golden Photo Booth
Late-Night Snacks | LA Street Tacos
DJ & Emcee | Oli the DJ
Dress | Luv Bridal
Photography & Videography | Pamela Tatz Photography

Planning a Hartley Botanica Wedding?

I’d love to hear about it. Take a look at Melissa and Erika’s Botanica Oceanside Wedding with Sunset Florals or Jeanine and Vincent’s Ethereal Gardens Wedding for more California garden weddings, or get in touch to inquire.