I lovingly–– and accurately–– refer to Chris and Victoria as the King and Queen of Philadelphia. After meeting me in Malibu a year earlier for engagement photos, these two invited me to Philadelphia to capture their iconic city wedding. Everything about it was quintessentially Philadelphia–– a ceremony at the grand Cathedral

I could photograph this gorgeous engagement session with Vic and Chris a thousand times over. Victoria, fashionable as always, stunned in her red dress from Club Monaco. It made the perfect complement to the delicious golden light of Malibu’s sunset, so their session has quickly become one of my favorite engagement styling references.

Vic and Chris came all the way out from Philadelphia to meet me for engagement photos in Malibu. The Santa Monica Mountains landscape suited them so well–– warm, inviting, open, and beautiful. Their priority for engagement photos (and for their upcoming wedding) was real emotion, and it was so easy to capture that with how naturally loving they are.

If you’re looking for some couple’s posing inspiration–– one of my favorite things to do at the beginning of engagement sessions is to bring a couple notebooks. I have the couple sit down and write a few of the things they love about the other person, are proud of, and are looking forward to. Then they read them back to each other. It’s a great way to get the couple focused on each other and set a tone of connection for the rest of the photos. The set of images where Vic and Chris are reading to each other the things they wrote down are some of my favorite from the session.