Since Maine is a destination wedding location many of my brides are living in other places. While they love Maine and that is why they are getting married here–their lives are in another location. I have been so fortunate this year to begin doing destination engagement sessions. I love getting to see their lives and where they are from, experiencing new places, and spending more time with my clients. Instead of just one hour with them here in Maine, I generally get to spend a whole day with them. Sometimes we do it in several pieces (like photographing for 1.5 hours each evening) or sometimes we get together and I just photograph them in their homes being themselves. Regardless of if it is a lifestyle session, dinner together, or just some shooting it is a blast. I have the greatest clients, and I am so excited about this and next years wedding seasons. My most recent session was with Juliana and Erik in San Diego. They live about a block from the beach and really wanted to showcase what a huge part of their lives that is in their session. I fell in love with San Diego while I was there–the downtown Seaport and Gaslamp Districts were spectacular. Then as if I couldn’t love the weather or the place anymore the pelicans at the beach were the best! I love bird watching, and I adore the beach. Funny story (now in retrospect) on one of Juliana and Erik’s first dates they were having a beach picnic and lounging on a blanket together—when spat all over both of them pelican poop. I told them they say (probably because they are trying to make a positive out of a negative) that getting pooped on is good luck and that that pelican was just blessing their future marriage 🙂 Needless to say they were not nearly as enthralled with the pelican’s as I was 🙂 but we did have a wonderful time splashing in the chilly water and climbing on the lifeguard towers. Here are some of my favorites from this San Diego engagement session.