Cue all the tears. This session is one I’ve been imagining since Monica and I met a few years back. She’s my sister-friend and from the moment she got engaged, I could not contain my excitement (!!!!!) Hanging with her and her fiance Jon for a couple of hours shooting was so much fun and I’m looking forward to their intimate, classic Santa Barbara wedding next month!

We decided the location for their engagement photos would be in the back hills of Silverado Canyon as this is a spot Mon noticed back when she and Jon were, funnily enough, driving to a wedding. We met and parked at that venue (Giracci Vineyards and Farms ). I hopped in Jon’s truck and we drove to a couple of different spots nearby. Monica’s dress and top are Free People (swooooning, I linked a FP top and FP dress similar to each!) Sunset hit just right and we caught it in the knick of time over at Fairview Park to pop a little bubbly (even though none of us drink champagne,haha, just a nod to a co-worker who gifted it) to signal the start to this celebration season!

For photogs: Silverado Canyon is a hidden gem. There are certain areas that it’s wide enough to pull off on the side of the highway safely. I would definitely recommend location scouting beforehand to have a game plan. I was pleased to discover that the sound of cars was not obnoxious (was concerned it may be) and we drowned out any remaining noise with the sound of Eric Church’s voice on Jon’s handy dandy portable speaker. An easy day and beautiful location that I’m glad is now marked as Monica and Jon’s special spot!