Carmen and Erik met as young children, and their friendship turned into the sweetest, fairytale romance! After years of long distance and driving up and down California to visit one another, they’re finally in the same town and planning their wedding together.

For their engagement session, C + E asked if we could find a California beach that was reminiscent of the rocky, bluff-y beaches in Hawaii (where they went on their first vacation together). We found the perfect spot! Panther Beach was an absolutely stunning backdrop for their session. We even got lucky with some golden-hour sunshine after a foggy few days in Santa Cruz 💕

If you’ve never been to Panther Beach, be prepared for quite the trek up and down the trail to the beach. But once you’re there, the effort is beyond worth it!