The past few months, I've been all over the place. I'm a Chicago wedding photographer. I'm a Cincinnati Wedding photographer. I'm an NYC wedding photographer. I'm a NorCal wedding photographer. Now I'm a SoCal wedding photographer (well, working on it...that sunshine was an amazing getaway from the classic Chicago gray, cold, gloomy winter).


A few months back when I was in San Francisco for Amanda + Ben's stunning September vineyard wedding, I got the pleasure of meeting Olivia + Matt for an awesome Bay Area engagement shoot.
Olivia came in clutch and sent Aarti + Bob over to me right away.

I stay in touch with all my lovely couples across the country through Instagram and Facebook, so when I posted I was heading from Chicago to LA and Joshua Tree and wanted to do a couples photoshoot, Olivia came in clutch and sent Aarti + Bob over to me right away. Within a few hours, we already had dates set up, outfits starting to come together, and so. much. excitement!



We met up so they could change at the awesome AirBnb I had in Joshua Tree, complete with a cute backyard, hot tub, and cozy living room (plus three bedrooms so my friends I was with and I all got our very own....amazing!) before driving down the road to Joshua Tree National Park for their engagement pictures.

For the first half of the shoot, Aarti chose the most perfect flowy red wrap dress, and rocked that thing like it wasn't only 40 degrees out! I can't praise my clients enough for pretending it's warm when it's not, because my wimpy self couldn't put up with it lol. But I promise, every dang time, withstanding the cold in a killer outfit is worth the final pictures.

After a quick outfit change, we drove just a little further down the road of JT National Park and grabbed some more picture for these two at the end of the sunset, and of course, Aarti's stunning engagement ring. It's always a bit of a bummer when the sun isn't out, but boy did she shine for the second half!


We chatted about my day earlier in Los Angeles, exploring Griffith Observatory, hiking near the Hollywood sign, and of course the food we ate while there. I loved hearing about their plans for their LA wedding in November, including a super cool venue/restaurant right near Griffith Observatory!

And seriously.....look at allll this dreamy light. A wedding photographer's dream.


Pro tip: Make a mini vacation out of your engagement session! There are so many gorgeous locations in LA for engagement photos, but taking a quick road trip, getting an AirBNB, and having a relaxed day before getting some epic photos at your engagement session at Joshua Tree might be the perfect plan for you.

(Or hey, just do a romantic desert elopement at Joshua Tree!) The downtown has the cutest little coffee shops and of course, the Joshua Tree Saloon for a quick bite.

The sunset was absolutely stunning, I'm SO glad we stuck around in the cold to capture it. Those LA sunsets are definitely a little something different than the building-cluttered sunsets we get in Chicago (sunrise, however, is a different story).


It was so so so good to meet Aarti and Bob during my quick time in LA and Joshua Tree, but here's to many more sessions in warm, sunny weather coming up!