A Colorful Fall Engagement Session in Downtown Charlottesville

I love spending fall evenings up in the mountains for engagement sessions, but there’s something to be said for how beautiful the colors are right in downtown Charlottesville. Melissa + Lev reached out at the last minute about squeezing in a session while they were in town from Northern Virginia, and I’m so glad I was able to fit this little adventure with them into my schedule (and later photograph their wedding).

The vibes are so high around the Downtown Mall when it’s not 100 degrees out - everyone’s happy, everything’s vibrant and colorful - it’s just the best. We hit a few iconic spots and also went wandering in search of bright leaves to much success. The gingko leaves were especially lovely and one of my favorite parts of this session was Melissa + Lev grabbing a couple and wearing them around while we walked. And the views of Carter Mountain at sunset were lovely, too.

The million dollar question everyone has in the fall is: when is peak color for engagement sessions in Charlottesville? Sadly, it’s hard to say with certainty since it varies from year to year. But I will say that in general, it tends to be a little later than people think. Although fall vibes really set in as soon as October starts, this session was on November 8th, and as you can see - the colors were about as good as you could ask for. In Charlottesville, I’d say the last week of October or first week of November is your safest bet. If you’re going up in the mountains, it’s earlier and varies more with elevation. But even if you’re a little early or late, it’ll still be beautiful!!