Sarah + Hayden ⎢ Palm Springs & Joshua Tree Engagement
April 14, 2020
Sarah & Hayden’s engagement photos are some of my favorite photos to date! I have known Hayden since middle school and have been friends ever since! When I met Sarah I knew that they were absolutely perfect for each other. You can just tell. They had reached out to me after they got engaged and asked if I would take their engagement photos and of course my answer was yes!!
Their engagement photos were a long time coming since we had originally scheduled them in February of 2019 in San Diego. Well…against all odds it surprisingly wasn’t the usual sunny and 75 degrees like San Diego is known for on the day we had planned to take them…it was a solid 60 degrees and pouring rain. So we had postponed their photos. Needless to say after some career advances and a move later, Sarah and Hayden actually found themselves in Palm Springs where they both practice different forms of law.
When it came time to reschedule their shoot, they had decided to change the location from the original San Diego to where they are currently living…the Palm Springs area which is only fitting! We finally made their photos happen in November 2019 when the weather was absolutely perfect in the desert!
Sarah & Hayden wanted their engagement photos to truly represent them as a couple so we did just that! Our day started at LuLu’s for some drinks! What better way to start photos than with a liquid courage (as I always suggest to my couples if they are drinkers!). It helps ease the nerves and takes the edge off a bit! We partook in some bloody mary’s and discussed our final plans for the day.
After LuLu’s we went to our first stop, which was Trader Joe’s! Hayden and Sarah have this inside joke between them about avocados and picking out the perfect one! Hayden always catches Sarah on camera whenever they go to the grocery store picking out avocados and it’s a big part of their sense of humor so naturally we HAD to include that in their engagement session. It didn’t matter how many stares we would get or weird looks we made it happen! We also had to indulge in their samples of course! Grocery store engagement sessions are my new fave! They’re so fun and i love taking a regular everyday activity and incorporating it into a shoot in such a fun way!
Our next stop was a neighborhood street we found that captures the essence of Palm Springs with the Palm trees lining the sidewalks and the beautiful mountain backdrop that this area is known for. Hayden and Sarah told me ahead of time that they had wanted a few photos with the mountains in the back so this was the next stop on our list!
Our last and final stop was of course the famous Joshua Tree where Hayden & Sarah wanted to wear their formal attire as golden hour. THIS WAS ABSOLUTE MAGIC!!! We continued our day with a stop at Starbucks to refuel and we made our way to the Joshua Tree National Park! There is a small entrance fee to get in so just keep that in mind when you head out there whether it’s for fun or for a shoot! Hayden & Sarah are huge music fans and always attend shows in LA together so on the way to Joshua Tree I had put together a playlist of some of their absolute favorite songs to make the photoshoot experience even better and more relaxed!
We had originally planned on driving straight to Skull Rock but when we arrived there were a ton of cars and it looked pretty crowded to we decided a backup plan would be better. We had seen a side road where we could pull off on our way to we backtracked and parked near these giant boulders and cool rock formations. We popped some champagne and got the party started!
We captured the most beautiful golden hour shots here and still had some time left before the sun would disappear so we continued down the road where we pulled off to catch the last bit of light! We frolicked around in a field and always had their favorite bands playing in the background! We were even able to get some really cool road photos since it was less busy during this time of day!
All in all, Hayden & Sarah’s engagement photo day was such a fun experience!! I loved being able to capture their love and I am so glad we incorporated all of their favorites in one session! Between the locations, outfit changes, TONS of laughs, and some bubbly in between, it made for the best shoot and the magic that was created was UNREAL! It also is what truly sparked my love for Joshua Tree and allowed me to see why everyone is so obsessed with that place! Now I am finding any excuse to go back so you could say I have officially joined the Joshua Tree fan club 😉
