When Nikki + Carol reached out to me about having their engagement session in Yosemite National Park, I was over the moon. Little did we know we would be met by snow in Yosemite as soon as we entered the park. This made for some of my most favorite portraits I have ever taken in Yosemite. 

We started off in Oakhurst at their Airbnb for some cozy portraits. They wanted a variety of portraits between their Airbnb and in the park. I often recommend multiple outfits to get a variety of portraits for your session, but I am more than down to also go to several locations to get you two a variety of portraits. 

Look at how cute these little homemade poptarts are! These were made by Samantha from – Samantha Cakes n Bakes and if you are in the Southern California area, you should reach out and purchase your own. They were DELICIOUS. 

This cute little A-Frame house had the sweetest little nook and crannies and we used every angle we could. 

As we ventured outside, it started to drizzle a little bit and it created the perfect opportunity to bring out my cute clear umbrellas. You’ll probably recognize these from a few other sessions, but I can’t help how much I love them. 

Although we had planned this day out for months, when the weather changed we had to adjust our timeline just a bit due to the loss of sunlight. So we headed up to Yosemite to end our session. Of course as we entered the park, it started to flurry a bit. As we headed to the valley, the snow started. (Photographer tip! Always keep chains in your car, especially when heading up to Yosemite)

I initially pulled over to put on our chains due to the snow in Yosemite. However, after putting on our chains, I decided I needed to take advantage of this beauty. Because it was pretty unexpected, who knew if there would be snow anywhere else in the park. 

These are some of my most favorite Yosemite engagement photos. I mean look at this beauty. 

As we headed into the valley, the snow subsided and it became a slight drizzle for a majority of our session. 

We stopped by Ahwahnee Hotel, to sit by the fire for a moment. I always love to take my couples to Ahwahnee Hotel, because I think it is incredibly unique and of course, majestic. 

The last stop we had planned for was Tunnel view as we exited the park. The sun was almost completely set by the time we made it up to the parking lot and we still had one very important matter to take care of. Carol had reached out privately to discuss proposing to Nikki during their session. I was so excited and nervous! Not only were we practically out of light, but it started to POUR rain. 

Despite all the odds against us, these images came out stunning! 

You can see a little bit of Bridal Veil Falls in the background as the blue hour covers the valley. As the rain picked up, I instructed Nikki to move her adorable Subaru to have a bit more light on them. This provided the perfect backlight to show off the pouring rain as I captured the proposal.

Look at how sweet Nikki’s face is as Carol proposes. 

Between the snow in Yosemite and the pouring rain proposal, this whole engagement session was unforgettable. 

Elissa + Jess – Rainy Proposal 

How to prepare for an engagement session

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