Stephanie and Erik’s engagement session

When Stephanie and I were thinking up ideas for her wedding, the pictures and theme were a big priority in our minds. This Summer, we went to Hawaii to check out venues for their June 2011 wedding near their family place in Kona, and our goal was to find venues that didn’t scream “Hawaii”, with the palm trees and plumeria and beach ceremony at sunset. After a busy two day quest, we found two places that had everything we wanted, with an “Old Hawaii” twist. The ceremony location is very rustic, up in the lush foothills of Waimea, and the reception will be at the Mauna Kea, a mid-century resort with Asian touches.

The main reason why these two places were so great was because they both had 1960′s written all over them. Anna Ranch is 30 minutes from the shore, tucked away in a town that hasn’t quite caught up with the modern world. The Mauna Kea is so “Mad Men” meets Elvis’ “Blue Hawaii”, it’s just too fabulous for words. So when it was time to take engagement photos, we planned out three locations that would play along with those themes.

Since they’re not getting married here at home it was only fitting to integrate “Sacramento”, the place they’ve chosen as their home, into their engagement photos. The first place we went was the Cosmo Cafe and the surroundings on K Street in downtown Sacramento. The decor and vibe were so fitting for our photos. We’d prepared by having Stephanie’s hair and makeup done by Sumaira and Minal, and Steph got a fabulous dress from Banana Republic that worked perfectly.

If you haven’t been to Cosmo, you’re really missing out. One of the best things you can do on a Sacramento evening is have drinks at their beautiful bar and then hop across the street to the Crest for a movie or performance.

Then, we went up to a rooftop that overlooks K Street on one side, and L Street and the Capitol on the other. We looked for months for a short, white, wedding-ish dress for this part of the shoot. Then, Stephanie’s Mom graciously let us alter her wedding dress from 1971 to a micro-mini, and now I don’t think any other dress would’ve worked better.

I’m obsessed with these rooftop photos. Steph really pulled out her inner-fierceness.

This flask may or may not have been filled with real booze for Erik

Our last location for the day was a quick stop right be fore the sun set, at the American River.

My lensbaby creative filter used with string lights is becoming my favorite way to end a portrait session.

If you’re wondering why I keep referring to “us” and “our opinion” as opposed to Erik and Steph, that’s because he’s the most easy-going guy on the planet, who just wants to make Stephanie happy. Which is the best thing for us because I get to help plan things and we know he’ll go along with (almost) anything

This was such a fun shoot to plan for, and I think we pulled off what we’d envisioned in our minds. Now, to plan for the big event in Hawaii!!