The perfect reason to talk about Washington State again: two beautiful locations and two best people who I had the pleasure of working with to capture their engagement session. Alyssa + Lucas were so much fun to spend the day with – and I truly mean it because we actually spent the entire day together for their engagement in the North Cascade Mountains at Diablo Lake and Downtown Seattle!

First Location: Diablo Lake in the North Cascade Mountains

We started the session in the North Cascades National Park, specifically at Diablo Lake. This is one of the most beautiful spots in Washington – it is a vast wilderness of mountains, glaciers, and lakes. The North Cascades Mountains might take the cake as my favorite mountain range in the state, it’s absolutely breathtaking. Seriously is one of the most breathtaking places and I am so glad that Alyssa + Lucas wanted to capture their engagement session in such a memorable location. The water at Diablo Lake is incredibly blue, it blew my mind how naturally beautiful the water was. We spent about an hour or so here, and it was honestly so much fun to spend the time with them while they ran around the beautiful scenery.

I also want to take a minute to talk about their outfit choice: which is precisely what I recommend every couple doing for their photos as well. Coordinating, but not exactly matching! Alyssa was wearing a cropped white coat over a black catsuit , white socks with the cutest UGG boots, and a pair of white earmuffs … she looked absolutely ICONIC. Lucas coordinated with her outfit by wearing a dark colored waffle textured pullover with a white t-shirt underneath and white sneakers. Their outfits looked so good together but showcased their personal style which I love!

Then after we spent time taking photos in the alpine landscape, we all drove to Downtown Seattle and kind of had a fun road trip since it was quite a long drive. I always say that I want to become friends with the couples that I photograph for, and this day was such a perfect example of that. We just got to hang out all day, talk about their wedding planning, their relationship, their recommendations of things to do while we were exploring Washington, and so much more. Alyssa + Lucas are one of the sweetest and most fun couples to be around so I am so glad we got to spend more time that usual for their engagement session.

Next Location: Hotel Sorrento in Seattle

After our 2 hour road trip, we arrived at Hotel Sorrento in Downtown Seattle. Hotel Sorrento is a classic, historical hotel with a taste of modern decor located in the downtown Seattle area. As of the time of writing this, the hotel is 115 years old, with the first guests being those among the tourists attending the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (a.k.a the first time anyone outside the Northwest had heard of Seattle). Interesting history about the beautiful hotel in such a busy metropolis today!

Our first stop at Hotel Sorrento was the historic Fireside Room, which is their signature lobby bar, where they serve cocktails in a lively environment with the most moody lighting. However, for Alyssa + Lucas’ session, we had the entire room to ourselves and I absolutely loved that we had the chance to move around the bar and seating areas and get creative in the space. We took in everything the room had to offer – the whole space had the most amazing vibes, complete with a grand piano, bar area, lounge, and overall a beautiful space. We stayed here for a while, capturing pure, romantic, and sultry photos for their engagement gallery. This space was one of those ideal locations for curating those subtle, steamy moments – it was dimly lit and truly private for moments to be natural and raw.

The End of the Night: Hotel Room

After we finished taking our time in the bar area in the hotel, we moved upstairs to their hotel room to finish the night. Before that though, we snuck a luggage cart down the hall and took some photos with that, capturing some of the most fun, true documentary style photos for them. The moments that truly stand out in a couple’s engagement session are the ones where you can see the couple having fun together and showcasing their love that you can sense through the finished photos. We finished the night in their hotel room, taking photos of them drinking champagne, enjoying each other’s company, and some super cute moments jumping on the hotel bed, which perfectly captured Alyssa’s bubbly and playful personality.

This day was truly so magical and I feel like I got to know Alyssa + Lucas so much better by spending the day with them! We are so excited to keep documenting their adventure to getting married! Stay tuned for more iconic photos of these two in the future!!

If you would like to read about other sessions I have done in Washington and view more galleries, consider following my Instagram and checking out my previous blog post on planning your elopement in Washington!