When Laura told me that she intended to wear a tulle skirt and black heels to her and Billy’s downtown Santa Monica engagement session, I literally clapped with joy. I’ve known Laura for a while now; she’s a prominent florist up in the East Bay area (check out her beautiful work!) and not only that, she’s the sister of one of my best friends in the wedding industry (hi Karey! Love you!). I’ve been looking forward to Laura’s wedding for so long; her fiancé, Billy, surprised her with a gorgeous rose gold diamond ring earlier this year (which I’m so grateful to Karey for shooting, Laura’s face was priceless!). Everyone knew Billy was proposing, even me, before Laura did!

So with their wedding coming up early next year at Casa Real up north in Pleasanton, we decided to do their shoot down here in Southern California. Santa Monica is one of Laura’s favorite places, so it made sense for us to hang out around Ocean Avenue and the Pier. We walked around the whole area by Hotel California, taking advantage of all the gorgeous quintessential SoCal backgrounds – palm trees, nice cars and the Pacific Ocean! We laughed about Billy’s groomsmen’s height differences and talked about our shared love of Patron, and we must have said “did you see that!?” at least half a dozen times, after seeing some of the more colorful LA residents.

I’m so excited to be sharing these images with you this morning … and now, we’re eagerly awaiting January to roll around for their big day!!!

Laura’s Necklaces | Stella and Dot

Engagement Ring | Jewelry Exchange Expo