It was an absolutely gorgeous day for an even more gorgeous couple in the hills of Murrieta. The day of Tessa + Bryan’s engagement portraits was such a perfect day…there was minimal cloud coverage, a warm afternoon (but chilly blue hour!) and the grass was extra green due to all of the wonderful rain we have received. I hadn’t previously been to the Santa Rosa Plateau although I have been in the area several times, so it was great to be able to receive a special tour from the couple of their favorite places to explore. (Note: The plateau contains wildlife, so you cannot bring your animals to the location. I find it hard to enjoy the great outdoors without my pups, which is why I hadn’t been there before. BUT you’ve got to respect nature, right?! AND..Now that I have been there, I am definitely up for leaving my fur-babes at home to do some more exploring.)
We went to the furtherest point they wanted to hike to first so that we could make our way back as the sun was setting. The walk/hike was SO neat and contained all sorts of different backdrops…a photographers dream that is for sure!
The above photos were captured at around 3 PM so you can see they are nice and bright. I really enjoyed this series of captures because it was right at the beginning when they both were so excited (and probably a bit nervous…in a good way!) to be enjoying this special benchmark in their relationship. I also LOVE Tessa’s dress…absolutely GORGEOUS!
After the open air collection of captures, we then made our way back through the thick trees, meandering stream (with a bridge), and extra tall grass. I love how the couple wore their casual outfit choice for this part because it worked so well with the backdrop! These captures were SO fun (and natural!)
The next part of the session was extremely picturesque! It was hard to believe we were in SoCal. It was extra green and the views were incredible. I think I found it hard to believe this was in our backyard because with the lack of rain we have had, it has been hard to find green scenery. One of the other reasons I found this spot to be so gorgeous was because it kind of reminded me of a scene from the movie 50 First Dates when they are under the big tree, the sun is setting and there is tall grass. I always loved that part! Again, they choose a perfect outfit to make them pop against the background.
For the final portion of our session we went to the top of the rolling fields that had spectacular views. The sun had just set though, and all of the sudden it was FREEZING! It didn’t stop us though from getting some of my favorite captures of the day.
Overall, this session was one for the books. I have way too many favorites to share in one post, so you can view more by clicking here. I cannot wait for their October wedding under the olive trees. I know it will be amazing!
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