Hello, friends! With tomorrow being Labor Day, I thought I’d share a little summer lovin’ to remind us all how incredible this summer has been.

That being said: not every engagement session makes it to the Blog. I swear that if I could, I would share all of them! This one, though, stood out for so many reasons.

Nothing seemed to be going as planned. It was an evening in late June, and the temperature was maybe 65 degrees. We were all a little chilly. The location we had planned for our session fell through at the very last minute. Morgan and Cory had just moved to Chicago, so they didn’t have any favorite hangouts or meaningful spots we could use as a Plan B. Coming from San Diego (where they became engaged), they wanted their session to have a California beach feel, and include the sunset if possible. We ended up driving through rush hour to North Avenue Beach – and am I ever glad we did!

The three of us made it with just enough time to utilize that golden hour light, and captured some sweet Save the Date images. We played in the Lake, chased a few birds, got a little cozy, and laughed a lot. I mean, a LOT. These two definitely know how to make each other smile, and their happiness is undeniably contagious!

Once the sun began to set, this immediately became my dream engagement session. There is nothing more captivating than a couple in love, smack dab in the middle of Mother Nature’s wonders. The waves, the light, the colors – need I say more?! California beach feel: check!

Congrats again, Morgan and Cory! I know your California wedding next year will be the most fun and perfect day.