Katerina and Eric

I don’t know about you, but I always feel amazed when exploring Santa Barbara. The beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, and diverse cultures are just so hard to resist! That’s why when Eric asked me to photograph his Santa Barbara engagement, it was an immediate ‘yes!’ and I was already contemplating about my favorite places for their session!

He arranged a surprise trip for Katerina (the love of his life) and only told her where they were going a few days before the trip, to give her an idea of what kinds of clothes to bring.

I’m all about taking timeless, stunning photos, but the best part of this job is to hear the unique love stories of my couples. You can see in the photos how these two lovely people are truly and deeply connected.

This is how they met:

“Eric and Katerina met on September 13, 2014, at his friend Andrew’s place downtown Chicago. The guys were grilling food and invited Katerina and her friend, Jane, over. Eric was behind the grill and to this day he tells people that he cooked Katerina that meal and she fell in love with him right away but in reality, Katerina fell in love with his blue eyes and sense of humor first.”

Let me tell you how this Santa Barbara engagement unfolded. Eric proposed to her on Thursday.  He was eager to take care of business right away and propose to her as soon as they arrived so they could spend the rest of the time here just having fun. The backdrop was no less than a brilliantly red and orange sunset. It was just the two of them taking the moment in.

Then, we kicked off the engagement session on Saturday. We met at the lobby and started our session exploring the majestic architecture, which framed the passionate love Eric and Katerina have for each other. Since it was a perfectly sunny day, we went out and took snapshots with the gorgeous Santa Barbara beach for our background. The beautiful scenery vividly narrated the colorful romance these two souls are sharing. It was an intimate, breathtaking sight!

Photographing this lovely couple wasn’t just an experience or a job. It was a privilege of witnessing true love and my lens couldn’t hide the excitement. Whether you enjoy hiking, fine-dining, water sports, bumming on the beach, appreciating culture, an awesome night-life, or plan a Santa Barbara engagement; I’m more than happy to capture your moments and hear your story!