Erika & Breffni // An engagement session in Big Basin & Pescadero

Erika & Breffni are having a restaurant wedding in Oakland in April, so we spent a quiet Sunday afternoon creating an engagement session of epic, opposite proportions.

We started in the redwoods at Big Basin, near Santa Cruz, where Erika & Breffni both went to school and fell in love with hiking and exploring the area. After that we drove out and up the coast towards Pescadero, stopping at Gazos Creek State Beach, across from Highway 1 Brewing Company and, FASCINATINGLY ENOUGH: the coastal geographic center of California. Like, legit the mid point of the state!

Jenn & Alex in Joshua Tree // A Sunrise Engagement Session

When Jenn & Alex found out I was already in the desert (for one of my favorite Joshua Tree weddings of all time), they jumped at the chance to meet me the next morning for a sunrise drive through Joshua Tree National Park. Jenn wore a beautiful floral dress that moved with the wind and popped against the browns and greens and pinks and golds of the desert, and Alex looked sharp as all hell.

We drove into the park in the darkness, and moved south east along the road, stopping wherever our hearts (and casual pre-shoot scouting) suggested. It was a beautiful way to get to know them better - to be in awe, the three of us together, of the California sun rising in the desert sky.

Tabitha & Gavin // A Palm Springs Engagement Session

Another day, another gorgeous, whimsical couple romping around the desert.

Gavin and Tabitha (and her gorgeous unicorn hair) were celebrating their first anniversary at The Parker Palm Springs on the very same weekend I was heading home from Jenn & Alex's Joshua Tree engagement session. We made a plan to meet for a drink a couple hours before sunset and steal away for some photos on the grounds at the Parker (mildly not allowed). 

Then we hopped in my car and I drove them out to my favorite spot in town - just a little off the beaten path - where we watched the sun set over a wind farm and they kicked dirt and made out until it started getting dark.

PS: Tabitha is the brilliant creative behind Winston & Main, an event design company in Los Angeles.