As a bay area engagement photographer, I often find myself traveling all over Northern California!! I love when couples decide to take their engagement photos somewhere unique or entirely special to them!!

Brandy and Derek absolutely love the Calistoga area so they opted to make a weekend out of it for these engagement photos! They originally thought a winery would be perfect, but then opted for a hike instead. However, they ended up with the best of both worlds because the wine tasted a bit before the session. Also, this is an absolutely brilliant idea if you feel like you need just a bit of liquid courage before your photos!! 

We originally set out to take photos at a popular hiking trail, but soon realized it would take a bit longer than anticipated and wasn’t exactly the vibe they were looking for so we pivoted!! The first photos we took were actually right across from the entrance to the hike and made for the most perfect forest backdrop!! You wouldn’t believe we were pretty much right off of a main road! 

From there, the sun was dropping behind the many mountains in the area, so we drove up the road and stopped at this random pull-out! It was completely unplanned and ended up being the dreamiest location!! I loved how go with the flow and easy Brandy and Derek were!! They completely trusted my last minute location idea and they turned out to be some of my favorite photos ever!! I even had a few people tell me that it looked like we were in Montana!! 

The sunset was perfect with the rolling green/blue hills! Plus their outfits were absolutely perfect!! They compliment the background while also popping against it just enough! 

If you’re looking for a bay area engagement photographer, reach out!!! I’d love to adventure with you too and make it the most fun and carefree day for you!!!

For more engagement inspiration click here or here!!

Photos by bay area engagement photographer, Rachel Christopherson Photography LLC