If I’m honest, I would have loved to capture Kelly and Sergio’s engagement photos in the Czech Republic, right where Sergio proposed. But hey, an Empire Mine engagement session is nothing to scoff at either … at all. In fact, I’d been waiting a few years for a couple to come along that would be just as excited as me to to explore this weathered and elegant location. And this was just that couple.
Kelly and Sergio have got that hand-in-glove, peanut butter and chocolate, waffles and fried chicken sort of relationship…though it took a bit to get there. They first met when working in retail together and Sergio summoned up the nerve to ask her out. Even though her answer was “no”, she eventually came around to Sergio’s charm. So much so that she asked him out next time around, to which he responded with a “yes”. And the yeses have kept on coming: “yes” to owning cats together, “yes” to cooking together, and “yes” to a marriage proposal at a vineyard in Prague right as the bells tolled (presumably for them).
And so the day came for their engagement session, and we all made the trek up to Empire Mine State Historic Park. The mine itself is one of California’s oldest, working from 1850 until 1956 to unearth one of the state’s largest veins of gold. But beyond the 367 miles of underground tunnels, the park features all sorts of antique mining equipment as well as buildings meant to serve and resource the miners. Cooler still is elegant Bourn Cottage Estate, featuring a mansion of brick, gardens, fountains, and pools just a few hundred feet away from the mineshafts. And all this is surrounded by hundreds of acres of beautiful Sierra Nevada forest.
In other words, it was just the right place to photograph this playful and stylish couple with a wintry vibe. Take a look and see what I’m talking about…
Want to book your Empire Mine engagement session?
Since this is a state park, your photographer will need to obtain a permit from the state of California and you’ll need to pay a fee for that permit (~$65). You’ll also need to contact the park itself to ensure that there are no park activities or weddings on your date that might prevent your shoot from happening. Once your ducks are in a row, you can make the magic happen. Contact me if you’d like to plan an engagement photography session at Empire Mine!
Ready to go? Book your engagement session right at my online calendar!
