A Colorful Guanajuato City Engagement Session: Leslie & Chava

I lived in Guanajuato for ten years, so I know this city by heart: its callejones, its hidden staircases, and exactly when the best light hits each corner. That is why I love photographing here. Leslie and Chava wanted a save the date that felt like them, full of personality and with none of the stiff, posed stuff, and Guanajuato was the perfect place for it. We spent the morning walking the city with two completely different looks, chasing color around every corner.

Look one: black tulle and a motorcycle

We started in the stone tunnels below the city, where the light is soft and the walls have incredible texture. Leslie’s black tulle gown was made for movement: every time she turned, the skirt did half the work. We brought a BMW motorcycle to a small stone plaza and let them play, her laughing on the back of the bike and him with all the attitude.

From there it was callejón after callejón: kisses against terracotta walls, a twirl under a stone arch, a quiet forehead-to-forehead on a café balcony. Guanajuato hands you a new backdrop every twenty steps, and we used almost all of them: the staircase lined with hanging flower pots, the alley of orange balconies with old rail tracks still in the cobblestones, the stairwells you can shoot straight down into.

The black-and-white frames are my favorites: a little movement, a little imperfection, all real. That is the best part of working with Leslie and Chava, nothing was posed or stiff. I gave a direction, they gave each other a look, and the picture was already there.

Look two: white dress, bright city

Then the light opened up and so did the palette. Leslie changed into a short white dress with a veil, Chava into something easier, and we walked into the center of the city.

We climbed the steps of Teatro Juárez, one of the most recognizable stages in Mexico, for one of my favorite frames of the day: Leslie leaning back over the railing for a kiss. We ran the monumental staircase of the University of Guanajuato, where the couple looks tiny against all that stone. And we finished at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato, the yellow church that is the city’s postcard, for a twirl, a walk, and one long sunglasses-on embrace.

The last stretch was pure joy: a blue door framed by red bougainvillea, a moment where Chava dropped to one knee on the cobblestones, and to close, Leslie laughing so hard she could barely hold her baby’s breath bouquet. Exactly the note a save the date should end on.

Planning a Guanajuato engagement session?

If you are dreaming of an engagement session or save the date in Guanajuato, this is your sign. After ten years living here, I know the best corners of the city, when the best light reaches each one, and how to move through the session to make the most of the light. You bring two looks and comfortable shoes for the stairs; I will take care of the rest.

Congratulations, Leslie & Chava. Save the date, everyone. 🖤🤍

Photography: Fernando Ruiz, destination wedding and engagement photographer in Mexico. Dress: Ianndey. Planner: Barraco.