Maddie & Adam // Malibu Engagement Session
Maddie & Adam’s moms have always been the best of friends. There is a picture of the two of them—pregnant with Maddie & Adam respectively—posing together with their baby bellies. 5 years later, with their kiddos in tow, they met up for a trip to San Francisco. Little Maddie & little Adam hung out at a park, and took a picture posed together sitting on a bench. 20 years later, Adam would propose at the very same bench.
M & A’s love story is epic. They grew up together because of their parents’ close friendship, but saw each other only occasionally for various family events—Bar & Bat Mitzvahs mainly. Once they were old enough to keep in touch independently, they added each other on Facebook and would intermittently catch up & chat. When they were both seniors in high school and had developed a friendship, Adam took a chance and invited Maddie to his senior prom. Mind you—Maddie lived in Denver, and his prom was across the country in New York. Despite needing to fly in to be his date, she said yes, and they went to the prom together. It was only the 6th time they’d ever seen each other, but that night, sparks flew. A year and a half passed after prom until the two started officially dating.
Doing long distance for three years, and then living over an hour away from each other for two more years, Maddie & Adam’s relationship held strong and grew. This year, Adam flew to Colorado to ask Maddie’s parents for permission to marry her. Coincidentally, Maddie was DESPERATELY trying to get a hold of Adam that evening, but he couldn’t answer… because he was sitting down with her parents asking for her hand in marriage!!!! He didn’t want to have to lie about what he was doing, so he didn’t pick up… and then had to immediately get on a plane to fly home. He landed with a bunch of missed calls and messages, but just had to lie & tell Maddie that he’d gotten a headache and gone to bed early. He apologized profusely, and eventually was able to explain his ACTUAL whereabouts that day.
Soon after, on a beautiful day in San Francisco, at the same bench they were photographed at 20 years prior, Adam asked Maddie to marry him, and she said yes! She thought that the proposal was the only surprise Adam had in store.. until she found out that her parents + Adam’s parents were in San Francisco to celebrate their engagement. It was a perfectly executed proposal. (+10 points for you, Adam)
I met Maddie and Adam down in Malibu at my favorite beach to take their engagement photos, and BOY did we have a blast. Connecting over Jewish Geography (if you know, you know) and Birthright stories (if you know, you also know), Adam & Maddie felt like old friends to me very quickly. The tide and weather was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT at the beach, and we explored the rock formations & took photos in the perfect glow of the sunset. The session was filled with laughter, sharing stories in between pix, and great energy. Maddie and Adam are freakin’ electric together, and I had so much fun with them.
After the sun set, we headed up to a brewery and got to know each other without a camera in between us (lol). Over the tastiest nachos & pretzel ever, & I got to learn more about Maddie & Adam’s lives together, including hearing the story of their win on Let’s Make a Deal: just a casual all-inclusive Hawaii trip. Thanks Wayne Brady.
It was SO HARD to pick favorites from this gallery. The pure joy & warmth between these lovebirds radiated in every frame, so I… am sharing a ton of them. I MAY have gotten a little carried away while editing yesterday & Photoshopped some guest stars in the photos, so I’ll throw one of those in here as an Easter egg.
Maddie & Adam are my new favorite humans & I am just MAD I have to wait over a year to watch them say “I do.” I suppose I will be patient, but I know I’ll be seeing their faces many times before the big day.
