We knew Malisa & Gren would be on our 2016 calendar before Gren actually proposed… sorry dude! 😉 Having met Malisa and her family at a mini session, we immediately loved them, and talking to Malisa about the “probably soon” wedding was such fun. So of COURSE we fist pumped when the ring was on the finger and we could officially start planning!

And then, bonus… to hear that they wanted to shoot their engagement portraits in San Francisco? YES PLEASE! Both bride & groom are homesick for North Texas, but also making a HOME in the place they’re living right now. It’s so hard to be away from family in a new city, but these two are so fun and adventurous… I love their attitudes about the whole thing. And I super love that they wanted to make sure they had portraits that capture the spirit of their time in the City by the Bay!

We started our day just after sunrise in the neighborhood around Haight-Ashbury. We knew we had a couple locations we wanted to shoot in a day split between morning light and evening light… but then Mack and I got completely carried away. We ended up with a complete session’s worth of images from that one morning spot. OOPS! So anyway, the images we shot in the forest and on the beach in the evening were totally bonus!

All that to say, it’s a rather massive blog post so… enjoy!

Also, be aware… LOTS of kissing in this post! Gren & Malisa are completely crazy about each other, which makes them so fun to photograph. We didn’t have to “direct” affection a single time… they’re just thrilled to be in each others’ company!

That. Light. Though. UGH. Every time we’re in California I beg Mack to move us there, because that coastal haze has my entire heart!

In the early evening, we drove to Muir Woods. I had this idea a few months ago of the juxtaposition between super formal wear and wild woods… and luckily, this state park with redwoods was only minutes from the beach where we wanted to end our session. Malisa fully embraced my idea, and we had so much fun with this part of our day!

And then, finally… the beach. It was crisp and cool and the light was like something out of a painting. Complete perfection.

You two… we just kind of adore you. Thank you so much for investing in us, for bringing us to your temporary home, for being game to try whatever we threw at you. We can’t WAIT to party with you in the spring!!!