Briana & David | Miami Destination Engagement | Miami Biltmore Wedding Photographer

Briana & David are (lucky) midwesterners who’ve found their way to Miami and, at least for the next few years, plan on enjoying every 70 degree plus moment of it. They invited me down to experience a bit of that warmth this January when it was negative 5 for days on end here in Milwaukee where they’ll be married this summer and they surprised me with an experience that was about more than not having to wear a coat. Before exploring the twinkle-light-wrapped palm tree lined streets of Coral Gables and ending our day under moonlight at the wonderfully imposing grand hotel Biltmore, we started in South Beach with a surprising forecast for rain. So, while waiting for the raindrops to stop and David’s shirt to dry, we sipped sweet mojitos under one of Ocean Drive’s ubiquitous wide awnings. In the end we made a run for it during one of the few pauses in rain and I adore the results. I assume both Briana and David imagined we would get lots of blue sky beachy photos that practically smell like sunshine, but what we got was so much better. They got a private walk on the beach – just them and the seagulls on a stretch of perfect sand normally packed saltwater to street with bodies. His shirt was still dotted with rain and her skirt fluttered into puddles, yet it was surprising and romantic and better than they could have imagined. Which is kindof the story of them, from deciding to move to Miami, to him proposing, to planning a wedding back in Wisconsin and I’m pretty sure it will be their story forever: surprising and romantic and better than they could have imagined.

After he proposed David treated Briana to drinks at the Biltmore. We arrived after dusk and played among the gorgeous architecture stunned by the beauty and the mystery of a place with so many little nooks and crannies to explore, courtyards to enjoy, stunningly ornate birdhouses to ogle, and seemingly private bars to toast one another in. We ended the night back on Ocean Drive bathed in neon light and sass. Thank you Briana and David for such a lovely day and tour of your great adopted city.