When I was planning where to do an engagement session with Christine and Chris, we considered going to a park for hiking or a winery for wine tasting — but in the end we decided to combine the ideas, and hike to some wine tasting on a mountaintop.

We went to Henry Coe State Park near Morgan Hill on a sunny Sunday in late February. On our way to the park, we stopped for photos at a lake and a very pretty barn. But the real payoff was inside the park itself, where we found dramatic-looking trees silhouetted against deep blue skies. We even found a little snow sticking to the shadowy parts of the hilltops.

Christine and Chris were champs for their photo shoot, putting up with the cold and rushing up the steep hills to get to the best spots as the sun dropped below the low-lying clouds on the horizon. When the sun did disappear, the temperature plummeted, sending us shivering back to my car.

The photos we shot were used to make a beautiful guest book for their wedding day, with open space next to the pictures for guests to leave messages for the couple.

Check them out in the gallery below …