Eric and Anna met their freshman year of college through mutual friends at the University of Illinois and knew from the beginning of their 6+ years together that they were soulmates. For them it was always a “when” not an “if” and after graduating college, living apart for three years, long-distance stints, a move to Amsterdam, traveling to fourteen countries, a pandemic, cross country road trips, and starting a new chapter together in Los Angeles, it was finally time! On their first day in Los Angeles, Eric and Anna went to Grace Lee’s showroom in Venice to try on a ring that Anna had found and both fell in love with it at first sight. “The gold wrapped organically around the diamond reflects a synergy we feel in our relationship. From the earth, the diamond has unchangeable features while the gold band makes sacrifices in its own form to support the whole. We offer our own strengths and flaws, but our willingness to adapt and grow together proves us unbreakable as a team!”


When Eric reached out to us with interest in having us capture his surprise proposal in Santa Barbara we could barely hold back our excitement - we love when we get to photograph and be a part of such an intimate and special moment in a couple's love story . . . also a plus that Santa Barbara is one of our favorite Southern California beaches! Eric planned a surprise birthday trip for Anna to Santa Barbara - planning a whole weekend getaway with a picnic in The Mission Rose Garden on their last day. He waited patiently while she ate 3 courses of her lunch while his stomach was in knots, before asking her if she would agree to a lifetime more! When asked what their favorite moment was they agreed that it was “right before the question got asked, we shared the best moment in reflecting on our relationship. Soulmates!!!” 


Somehow, though Anna was suspicious at times throughout their weekend getaway to Santa Barbara, Eric was able to keep cool and managed to throw her off and keep the proposal a complete surprise! From food options for their picnic (you can never go wrong with Crush Cakes Cafe) to a celebratory champagne pop and toast, we loved working with Eric to craft a picture-perfect proposal experience and can’t get over how beautiful their day turned out to be! After their picnic at the Santa Barbara Rose Garden, we ventured downtown and surprised the two of them with an engagement session at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. Throughout our time with the two of them, you could feel their deep connection and pure love radiate between eachother, such a beautiful day with such an amazing couple. Scroll down to check out Eric and Anna’s Santa Barbara Rose Garden proposal and surprise the Santa Barbara Courthouse engagement session!


“Seriously wouldn’t have traded that time for the world. We didn’t have time to call our loved ones or share with the world - we had 2 hours of pure bliss keeping our little secret between us and Dakotah and Courtney! You two made us feel comfortable and that we could just be ourselves, enjoy and be rest assured that our love would be captured in candid moments! Thank you so much for being so communicative during the planning process. You were extremely helpful in planning the location and giving suggestions on things to bring or do for the actually proposal. You made the whole process extremely easy and allowed me to focus on the proposal itself while I trusted you took care of all the extras.”