Emma and Lorenzo’s engagement session was more than just a celebration of their upcoming wedding—it was a beautiful return to where their story began. Set on the rooftop of the very place where they first met, this dreamy California session captured their love in its most authentic form. With the golden light washing over them and the skyline as their witness, their connection radiated from every frame—effortless, genuine, and deeply rooted in friendship.
From their serendipitous first meeting in the halls of their shared workplace to stargazing on their very first date, Emma and Lorenzo have built a love story full of intentional moments and shared laughter. Their journey is as much about the little things—like planning their wedding date with a sweet mathematical twist—as it is about honoring family, tradition, and the quiet ways they show up for each other every day. This rooftop session is a perfect prelude to the life they’re creating together, filled with warmth, humor, and a love that everyone around them can feel.
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
We first met in April 2023 at our place of work, we both worked in separate restaurants in a hotel in our town. Our first date was around a full month after we met. Lorenzo asked when we were walking to our cars after a long Saturday night of work. That date was a week later, we went on a picnic and ended up stargazing and fell asleep on the lawn in front of Emma’s house.
Emma – My first impression of Lorenzo was that he is very kind and down to Earth. Our first time we met I was walking past him in a hurry and he stopped me to ask if I was okay and if I needed help with something. I had told him no but that didn’t stop him from offering every time I walked by.
Lorenzo – My first impression of Emma was when I saw her walking down the hallway I knew I needed to talk to her. I didn’t know her name or where she was going but I found out quickly. After that first encounter I wanted to keep finding out more about her.
Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship!
Our wedding date is a mathematical one. When picking a date, we knew we wanted it during the spring and that was it. We had asked around how some of our friends had picked out their dates and one couple had said that they added the single digits of their full birthdays together and landed on a date that way. So we did the same thing. Emma’s birthday had come out to the number 9 and Lorenzo’s came out to the number 5. So when we put them together we had two dates, May 9th or September 5th and we picked out May 9th 2026.
Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning.
A hurdle we had to overcome for our wedding planning is getting both of our huge families to make sure they will be in the country and state for our wedding day. Two of Emma’s brothers are in the military and are both in the middle of deployments and may not be able to attend. Emma’s oldest two brothers will be stationed in and near Japan during the months surrounding our wedding. For Lorenzo’s family they all live throughout California and a few other places around the world so getting them all together in one place is easier said than done.
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
One way we incorporated our families into our wedding is and our families will be the only people besides us wearing color. Our wedding parties will also be in color and they will be muted tones of our wedding colors to make sure everyone can see who is who to us. On our invitations we created a dress code and ask all of our guests wear entirely black. As much as a lot of people see this as unusual asking to wear black to a wedding, it will create a contrast that will only be us, our families, and our wedding party.
What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?
One of the most important parts of our wedding to us is our handfasting ceremony. Handfasting is a old tradition of tying the groom’s and bride’s hands together with a ribbon. Even the color of the ribbon has a meaning to it. So instead of having our families sit through our vows, we will do them privately and have them watch our handfasting ritual instead. This way our vows are more sentimental to us because we are the only ones reading them.
What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another?
Emma – Lorenzo has taught me to always be open to new things, and how important it is to keep an open mind. Trying new things can be scary especially being a person with anxiety. He has showed be that if something goes wrong there will be a way to fix it and to not be worried about it until it happens.
Lorenzo – Emma has taught me that difficult conversations don’t always have to be hard. Hard conversations are inevitable but they don’t always have to end with high emotions like anger or sadness. Starting a conversation that you know will be hard can be started with being direct about it and then talking it through so that the conversation is ended more positively than it started.
What is your favorite thing about each other?
Emma – Lorenzo has never been the kind of person to say anything negative about someone or something, he will always find the good in people and situations. He is such a kind person and makes sure there is never a time where someone feels bad after having a conversation with him. He is truly a light to this world especially in the darkest times.
Lorenzo – Emma has the best sense of humor. She has created humor in situations that needed the mood to be lightened. Her humor makes my sides hurt, and there is never a time where her jokes don’t hit the mark. Being able to bring laughter and smiles in dark times is an amazing quality to have and her smile lights up the room when she laughs.
What was your favorite part about planning your wedding?
Our favorite part of our wedding planning is how we are combining our two styles into one very special day. We are both very much people who have created a distinct style for ourselves and our families see it as well. We are people who care about what we do on this planet and how we affect the people around us. We both have put that feeling into our wedding by making sure it is a representation of who we are and what we want to show our friends and family what our love looks like to us.
If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?
Our best advice to couples is that being upset after a conversation is normal, but how you talk to your partner after is your choice. If you are upset about something chances are that your partner is as well, having a conversation about how you feel is important so that you understand one another. You and your partner can’t read each other’s minds so you have to be able to tell each other how you feel as well as what you are able to do to move on and fix a problem you may have.
What is the most honest thing you can say about love?
Love is not invisible. Love is shown through actions, words, and thoughts and can e seen all around you. One of the things we are told most is how people can tell how much we love eachother even when the other person is not around and it is something we are both very proud of. It is not flashy or loud but it is subtle but always known. The way you talk about your partner speaks volumes. Our negative interactions, although there are few, stay between us and we never speak poorly of our partner. We hold them up as they would for us.
Photography: Jaded Photography / @jadedphotography2020
Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate
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