Linh & Ankush's Panda Express & Old Town Pasadena Engagement

January 23, 2025 · Panda Express & Old Town Pasadena

A Panda Express and Old Town Pasadena Engagement Session

Linh and Ankush wanted an engagement session that felt completely like them, so we started somewhere playful and personal: Panda Express. In matching Have a Nice Day sweatshirts, they ordered at the counter and traded bites over takeout boxes. Then Linh changed into a flowing red dress and Ankush into a crisp white shirt for portraits outside the restaurant and a round of fortune cookies, before we wandered Old Town Pasadena's paseos, brick walls and sidewalks. Here is their Panda Express and Old Town Pasadena engagement session, photographed by One and Only Production.

Lunch Date at Panda Express

We started inside, with Linh and Ankush in matching Have a Nice Day sweatshirts. They ordered at the counter, traded bites with chopsticks by the window and laughed through the whole meal, which made for some of the most genuine moments of the day.

The Panda Express sign above the restaurant entrance.
Linh and Ankush laughing together at the Panda Express counter.
Linh and Ankush ordering at the counter in matching sweatshirts.
Linh and Ankush at the counter in matching Have a Nice Day sweatshirts.
Detail of Panda Express takeout boxes, chopsticks and fortune cookies.
A Panda Express takeout box with chopsticks and fortune cookies on the table.
Linh laughs as Ankush feeds her a bite with chopsticks.
Linh offers Ankush a bite with chopsticks at a window table.
Linh and Ankush sharing their meal at a table by the window.
Linh and Ankush lean in for a kiss over their takeout boxes.
Ankush and Linh share a bite at the window table.
Linh and Ankush seen from behind in matching sweatshirts at the window counter.
Linh and Ankush smiling together in a booth.
Linh smiles at the camera while Ankush looks at her.
Close-up of Linh's engagement ring as she holds an egg roll.
Ankush and Linh feed each other on a bench by the wood wall.
Linh and Ankush share a bite on the bench.
Two Panda Express gift boxes with plush pandas on the table, photographed by One and Only Production.

Dressed Up at Panda Express

For the second look, Linh changed into a red dress that matched the Panda Express signage perfectly, and Ankush switched to a white shirt. We photographed them under the sign outside, on the benches by the wood-paneled wall, cracking open fortune cookies and in front of the restaurant's panda mural.

Linh in a red dress and Ankush walk hand in hand beneath the Panda Express sign.
Linh and Ankush walk hand in hand outside the restaurant.
Linh and Ankush embrace beneath the Panda Express sign.
Linh and Ankush share a laugh under the restaurant sign.
Linh in her red dress smiles beside Ankush outside the restaurant.
Linh leans into Ankush's shoulder outside the restaurant.
Linh kisses Ankush's cheek outside Panda Express.
Ankush cups Linh's face as they lean in close.
Detail of Linh's engagement ring as Ankush holds her hand on her red dress.
Linh and Ankush seated together on a bench in front of the wood-paneled wall.
Linh leans into Ankush as they share a laugh on the bench.
Linh and Ankush seated on the bench beneath hanging greenery.
Linh in her red dress in front of the wood wall and hanging plants.
Portrait of Linh in her flutter-sleeve red dress.
Linh and Ankush toast with Panda Express cups.
Linh and Ankush open fortune cookies together, her ring showing.
Black and white photo of Linh and Ankush at a table beneath a panda mural.
Linh and Ankush hand in hand in front of the restaurant's handwritten mural wall.
Linh and Ankush holding hands across a table as Linh leans in.
Linh hugs Ankush as he sits on a stool inside the restaurant, photographed by One and Only Production.

Old Town Pasadena Streets and Paseos

Next we headed into Old Town Pasadena, where sunny sidewalks, quiet paseos lined with potted trees and wide stone steps gave us room to slow down. Ankush lifted and dipped Linh in the middle of a paseo, and the steps made a perfect spot for close, relaxed portraits.

Linh and Ankush on a sunny sidewalk in Old Town Pasadena.
Linh and Ankush embracing on a street corner in Old Town Pasadena.
Linh and Ankush nose to nose in warm afternoon light.
Linh smiles over her shoulder while hugging Ankush on the street.
Ankush kisses Linh's forehead on the sidewalk.
Close-up of Linh's engagement ring resting on Ankush's hand.
Ankush kisses Linh's cheek in Old Town Pasadena.
Linh and Ankush walk hand in hand down a paseo lined with planters.
Linh and Ankush share a moment beside a bench and flower planters in an Old Town paseo.
Linh and Ankush embracing in the paseo among potted trees.
Linh twirls in her red dress in the paseo.
Ankush lifts Linh off the ground as she kicks up her heel.
Ankush dips Linh in the middle of the paseo.
Linh and Ankush seated on wide stone steps in Old Town Pasadena.
Ankush hugs Linh from behind on the stone steps.
Ankush kisses Linh's cheek as she laughs on the steps.
Linh seated on the stone steps in her red dress.
Portrait of Ankush in a white shirt with his arms crossed, photographed by One and Only Production.

Red Ribbons, Brick Walls and a Coffee Stop

We finished with a few hidden corners: a wrought iron stairway framed in brick, a courtyard hung with tall red ribbons and lanterns, and a sidewalk cafe where they stopped for coffee. Linh's red dress tied the whole session together, right down to the last twirl on the sidewalk.

Linh and Ankush on a wrought iron stairway framed by a brick arch.
Linh walks among tall red ribbon streamers and lanterns.
Linh and Ankush embrace between the red streamers.
Linh and Ankush embracing beside a red brick wall and potted plants.
Linh and Ankush share a kiss against the brick wall.
Ankush hugs Linh tight beside the brick building.
Linh leads Ankush across the crosswalk in Old Town Pasadena.
Close-up of Linh leading Ankush by the hand across the street.
Linh pulls Ankush across the intersection, her red dress flowing.
Linh and Ankush toast with coffee cups at a sidewalk cafe table.
Linh and Ankush laughing over coffee at a bistro table.
Linh smiles over her shoulder on the sidewalk.
Close portrait of Linh looking away in golden light.
Linh swirls the skirt of her red dress on the sidewalk.
Linh in her red dress walking along an Old Town Pasadena sidewalk, photographed by One and Only Production.

Planning a Pasadena Engagement Session?

Pairing a place that means something to you with a classic backdrop is one of our favorite ways to plan a session. A casual first outfit at a spot like Panda Express keeps things fun and relaxed, and Old Town Pasadena's paseos, brick alleys and sidewalks add timeless variety just steps apart. If you are planning photos inside a restaurant or business, ask the manager first and go during a quieter time of day. One and Only Production is a photo and video team based in West Covina, serving Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. If you are planning your engagement session, we would love to hear your story. You can also see more of our work in our engagement portfolio.

Check Your Date