I’m a wee bit envious of Mai & John who live in the heart of downtown LA. Everytime I pass through downtown there is a new amazing restaurant, collection of lofts for sale, wine bar, line of shops – it would be quite dreamy to live in an airy loft near Little Tokyo, being just a few steps away from ramen, or fancy schmancy hot dogs, & tons of perfect cafes. The next best thing though, of course, is to shoot there :)

I love the arts district and Mai & John worked it so well! We found lots of great spots before heading to Union Station to finish up. Such a fun afternoon – so excited for their wedding come July!

P.S. This has never happened before, but we randomly bumped into 3 (3!) photographers that we knew during this session – Serena, Dave, & my sister. We bumped into the last one first, and as I was chatting with Mai & John, explaining, “yeah, the arts district is really popular for photoshoots”, Scott goes “um, I think that’s your sister.” Crazy!

When it comes time to chat about the engagement session, I always encourage couples to think of ways to incorporate a bit of who they are. Weddings with personalized touches are my favorite, but engagement sessions give additional free reign for meaningful locations, outfits that are perfectly “you”, and any fun props or themes – the possibilities are endless! :)

Suzanne & Robert took the idea of a personalized engagement session and ran with it! They both love the outdoors, & in her emails, Suzanne painted a picture of them camping, with hot chocolate, a tent, and lush natural surroundings. And so for the second half of Suzanne & Robert’s session, we ventured into the hills for a mini camping trip. I love all the details they gathered {Suzanne even brought along her trusty SLR} & their outfit choices as well – the perfect blend of rustic + outdoorsy + stylish, which fit the settings perfectly! We had so much fun setting up the scene & running around the area. And props to Robert & Scott for pitching the tent in what has to be the fastest time I’ve seen – and I’ve done some lightening-fast tent setups in my Girl Scouting days (okay, I lie, we were much better at selling cookies than pitching tents.)

It’s an amazing thing how memories can turn a regular place into the most beautiful location. What was once just a coffee shop, or a city park, or a stretch of shops, becomes a place you recall in your mind with so much love and adulation. Suzanne & Rob chose UCLA for their engagement session, a location that served as the place where they first met (a story not too different from Scott & my own :), and as we walked around the campus, they pointed out the spots where their memories were created.

I loved how the session came out – it wasn’t the cover of a UCLA brochure, with Royce Hall & the Sculpture Garden in the background, it was the UCLA that Suzanne & Rob remembered best. It was the hallways where they had neighboring offices, where they belonged to student coalitions fighting hunger and homelessness in LA, it was the “less-scenic” South Campus where they would meet between classes, it was the back lunch patio by a familiar building.

I hope when Suzanne & Robert look through these photos, they can feel filled to the brim with memories of excitement and happy moments :)

Stay tuned for Part II, camping in the wilderness! A tent, hot chocolate, and piggy back rides soon to come!

Suzanne told me that she specifically bought her shirt for the session, & that it was from *swoon* none other than Anthropologie. I think Anthro’s romantic styles always look so beautiful in photos!