Sutro Baths and Lands End in San Francisco is one of my favorite spots in the city. I love traversing through the crumbling ruins (but be careful not to fall into the water). There you will find amazing views of the Bay and Seal Rocks. The outlines of different bath ruins tell a story of the history there, once a magnificent bath house and beach Playland. A cave and hiking trails into Lands End are on one side, and the historic Cliff House on the other. Sutro Baths is usually draped in fog; good ole Karl likes to stick around for a moody, misty engagement session. It was the perfect place for Alex and Mel for us to document a bit their own journey together.

The two met in San Francisco through a dating app. Alex had a special request on his Tinder profile: he was looking for a lady of a certain height and above, because he is quite a tall fellow himself!

From Alex:

“Despite living 5 blocks apart, we still met on Tinder and we like to use the hashtag #swiperightfortheheight.

From Alex:

What I love about Mel!

Not even a year after we started dating I thought to myself "yep, this is the one".   Madeleine's heart is beautiful and she's passionate about our families and interests. She's constantly plotting out her travel goals and restaurants we need to try.  We complement one another, and I've grown as a result of being in her life. My focus has shifted from short term accomplishments to what we'll do in the next 10 years and I can't wait to marry her!

I can’t wait to see Mel and Alex get married next year!

Sonya Yruel is a San Francisco wedding and portrait photographer. Contact her here to book your engagement session!

Some images are film and were shot on my squishy Holga and were processed and scanned at Photoworks.