The rain was not supposed to roll in until the evening.  Mother Nature had other plans.  When I arrived at Lauren and Sean’s engagement session, the windshield wipers were on with the rain coming down.  We had come to the decision to try again another day, and we were just about to get back in our cars when there was a break in the rain.  We decided to take advantage of this moment to try to get at least some pictures taken since we were all gathered at the Bidwell Park Golf Course.  Mother Nature was on our side, and she allowed us to capture all of Lauren and Sean’s engagement session!  You can view more engagement sessions here.

How They Met

Lauren and Sean met at the Parkside Bar over three years ago.  Lauren spotted him across the way, and she thought that he was attractive.  They started talking, and they spent the rest of the night chatting and getting to know one another.  Shortly after that evening, they ended up going out on their first date, and they have not stopped.

The Proposal

Sean had quite the time trying to propose to Lauren.  Sean thought that since they had annual plans to vacation in Fort Bragg, a location that is near and dear to Lauren’s heart, this would be the perfect location.  He was envisioning proposing to Lauren at a winery that she enjoyed.  Before their trip, Lauren shared that their destination was now located in Santa Cruz and no longer in Fort Bragg.  Strike one.

While in Santa Cruz, they were vacationing with an AE Couple, Jessekah and Andy.  They were all at a gorgeous park with amazing views and Lauren thought to herself that this would be the perfect proposal moment, but she then realized that Sean was wearing basketball shorts without any pockets to hold a ring.  After lunch, they walked out to their car to learn that the back window had been smashed; and this put a damper on the rest of the day.  Instead of celebrating a proposal, they spent time at the car wash vacuuming out the broken glass in the car.  Sean was still committed to proposing, and he voted that they go to a beach with fire pits.  They looked up a beach that allowed fire pits and found one; but when they arrived, the fire pits had been removed due to Covid.  Sean had envisioned proposing to Lauren on the beach with a fire going to set the mood.  Strike two.

Lauren’s mother had given Sean a sand dollar with “Will you marry me” written on it.  Sean had the sand dollar planted in the sand, and he was waiting for Lauren to spot it.  Lauren did not spot it in time, and a wave rolled in and took the sand dollar out to sea.  Sean was so adamant to make this proposal happen on this day that he got down on one knee; but a large wave came in, and Lauren never saw him drop to a knee because she ran away from the wave.  AE Bride, Jessekah, had been videoing; and she captured this moment all on camera for them to enjoy today.  Strike three.

Sean pressed on and walked the beach with Lauren until there was no more beach to walk.  He looked at Lauren and shared that this had not gone as planned, and he finally was able to drop to one knee and at last asked Lauren to marry him.  She started to laugh hysterically as she said yes!

Lauren and Sean, I am so glad that we took the chance to take some pictures because the setting was perfect for the two of you!  You two are so happy in love and you photographed exactly this way as well.  You made my job so easy and fun!  Goose was an added bonus to the day.  I loved watching you two interact and steal kisses throughout your engagement session. Sean whispering into Lauren’s ear and then capturing both of your real smiles and laughter was a favorite moment of mine from your session. You two are exactly the reason why I enjoy wedding photography; I love capturing your joy and love for future generations to enjoy.  I am so excited for you to see some of my many favorites from your winter engagement session.