Engagements: Rob & Mary

I first met Rob and Mary a couple of months ago for the first time at a Cafe in SOMA. I remember leaving that cafe and having a huge smile on my face because I could really feel their excitement. About their wedding, about meeting with me, about each other. I LOVED IT! I secretly wished that they'd book me, and I'm so lucky because they did!

Fast forward to the first weekend of April, we spent the afternoon in San Francisco taking shot after engagement shot. Laughing, telling stories, and me saying, "Rob, look over here." ;) I was nervous because it had been raining the days before their shoot, but because they're awesome...the sun was out and about that Saturday afternoon :)

Rob and Mary, there is something about the two of you that I really love. Maybe its the quiet love, or how relaxed and chill the two of you are. Maybe it's that Rob looks all around during photos, or maybe it's Mary saying "Rob, we're taking pictures" (hahahah) Whatever it is, I think you two are wonderful. So here they are, the photos we spent taking around the city. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Xoxo

Below are some of my favorites

Enjoy!

My most favoritest

Look at Rob rockin his cool hat

Rob and Mary practice smizing at home. Can't you tell? Ok they don't, I'm just jealous that they're so good at it ;)

Thank you Rob for looking at me and not at the abandoned backpack

Always admiring his love

To see more, click here for a slideshow

JOIE

When I started my internship, I had a desk and drawer filled with goodies. Lots of post its in different colors, lots of pens, lots of pins, lots of pencils, lots of office goodies that made my heart skip a beat because I'm a nerd. There was also a stack of cards that stated the following...

WEAR AN OLD PAIR OF JEANS. TAKE A WALK ON THE BEACH. BUY SOME FRESH FLOWERS. TREAT YOURSELF TO SOMETHING SWEET. ENJOY THE SUNRISE. PAY THE BRIDGE TOLL FOR THE CAR BEHIND YOURS. GIVE UP YOUR SEAT ON THE BUS. TAKE A BUBBLE BATH. SMILE MORE. RIDE A CABLE CAR. CONTACT AN OLD FRIEND. TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH HE OR SHE MEANS TO YOU. CREATE JOY. - joy of life club, joie de vivre

I took one of these cards home and its currently on my desk. I read it every time. Every single time. Because it's the little things that make the world go round. And it's a good reminder to always create joy for ourselves, and to those around us. So go do it. Give Joy! Because lets face it, happiness is like a table covered with cupcakes. Who wouldn't want at least one bite? ;)

Photographs make me happy. Below is a sneak peak of the session I'm working on...

Enjoy!

Gnoss Field Session: Alisa and Sean

It was simple. Two people, myself, and a camera. That's all I wanted. But one night before bed, I started to think hard about what I really wanted. After all, this shoot was for myself. I wanted to make something beautiful. Step out of the box and get creative. But I thought too hard and I couldn't come up with anything. The next morning, I woke up and it hit me. I dreamt it. It happened in my head while I was sleeping. Two people. Airport. Airplane. And the rest is history...

I know the importance for us photographers to shoot for ourselves. I didn't put this together because I was asked to. I put it together because I wanted to. Being behind a camera brings me happiness, and I...I wanted to create something for me. I don't have the words to say how I felt that day. To see it come to life. It was incredible. And I'm happy and grateful that I had the chance to make it happen.

Complete coincidence, but this is my 100th blog post. I like to think that it was meant to be that way. Because to me, the 100th blog post should be special. And this shoot, it's my something special...

Many thanks to those who helped make my vision turn reality. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly, can't thank you enough.

Models: Alisa Grant and Sean Leon

Photography: Gladys Jem

Assistant: Chris Allen

Dress: Jenny Han

Stylist: Hannah Yanow and Gladys Jem

Bouquet: Lynn Allen

Bi-plane: Tom Ryan and Rich Gaines

Coordinator: Joe Allen

*after this shoot, we went to a field and shot some more. in different outfits of course :) will blog those soon!

Happy Saturday!

Something to get me through the week

I swear to you, the weekends fly by much faster than weekdays which is LAME. To even things out, weekends should be a full Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not just get off at work late Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. That's just how I'd like it at least :)

Here is a sneak peak of what I did this Sunday. I can't wait to share it with you because this shoot had me squealing, shrieking, and just overall happy. And yes...I know how lucky I am to shoot with a beautiful bi-plane. Ok ok, Alisa and Sean too ;)

HAPPY MONDAY!

Wedding Wednesdays: Wedding Blogs

I love being engaged because I can relate to my brides. I too, am planning a wedding and I know how tough it is to make decisions about your big day. I mean hello! You are reading the blog of the girl who changed her wedding colors 3943947 times until her fiance finally said "We really need to stick with one because we need to set up a meeting with a florist soon!" Easy for him to say, he won't be holding a bouquet ;)

Let's be honest, planning a wedding isn't the easiest thing in the world. So many decisions to make, plenty of flowers to choose from, and we can't forget the most important part...what flavor will the cake be? ;) I know for me, the biggest challenge so far was picking out colors. I spent hours and hours online looking at inspiration boards on wedding blogs. I know for a fact that my sister spent hours and hours online looking at inspiration boards as well. I have proof if you'd like to see it. EMAILS galore! But besides having those close to you help, one tool that has helped me out a lot with planning and inspiration are wedding blogs.

I don't know if you remember, but a couple of posts ago I blogged about finally deciding on our colors. This happened one Sunday afternoon. Chris was taking a nap and I was going crazy on Style Me Pretty. I went through pages and pages until I stumbled upon a fall inspired affair by Custom Event Group. It hit me like a trolley car on California street and I knew just by looking at the photos what our color palette was going to be. Ever since then, I haven't gone crazy with colors in my head. (Thank you Style Me Pretty!)

Another favorite blog of mine is the Wedding Chicks. Here you'll find everything that is pretty. Pretty, DIY, and pretty DIY. I love love love this blog and I love the two ladies that run it even more. (Hi Jocey and Amy!) I did a workshop with them in January, and they are fabuloso! One DIY in particular that I love from the blog are the DJ request cards. For brides who don't want just a clipboard with a piece of paper for song requests, these cards are just for you. I know I love them. Plus they say "Hey Mr. DJ, Play a song for me!" Fabulous right?

Besides the two blogs I mentioned above, here are a couple more I love. I check these blogs daily to find inspiration for my wedding, or because I just love anything wedding related :) And to my brides reading my blog, if you haven't gone on these blogs...go now! Pretty please :)

Green Wedding Shoes

Ruffled Blog

Lolliblog

100 Layer Cake

P.S. Pictured above is the Modern Bride Survival Guide Book. LOVE it!

The Perfect Day

It happened. This weekend. My perfect day happened and it was everything I dreamed of and more. You see...I've had this vision of a perfect day. And this Sunday, I lived it...

The sun gleamed through the windows as the city started to rise. With the street noise as my alarm clock, I rose from bed and opened the blinds to let in more sunshine. It was one of those days in the city, when the sun shines brighter than usual. I gave Chris a kiss and wished him a good morning.

We rise and get ready for our weekend routine, morning walks to the ferry building. I grab the camera and head out the door. Hand in hand, we walk the empty morning sidewalks of California Street. Enjoying the sunshine, we walk. We talk, we laugh, I snap photos, and we watch the half empty trolley cars pass us by.

Overlooking the water, we eat eggs and talk about our passions for creating. Movies, photographs, you name it. We talk, we laugh, I snap photos. Afterwards, we head back inside and I spend some time deciding on what fragrant flowers to purchase for our apartment. This time, it's dried lavender. Perfect for our new place. We wander around some more until it's time to head back.

We spend the rest of the day relaxing. Drives through the Marin headlands, and a home cooked meal with a movie to boot. More talking. More laughing. As the day comes to the end, I smile to myself and thank the Lord for the simplest day. A day with sunshine. With talking. With laughing. With snapping. With Chris.

p.s. can I be more in love with the light in our apartment? no. it's simpy divine :)

Bringing it back to life.

I don't fly like paper, or get high like planes. But I have been, MIA. It's not because I don't want to blog, or I banned myself from the internet (that's just crazy!) but my life has been ummm...how do I put this properly. "Well, I don't have one."

Chris and I moved last weekend to a fabulous apartment in Nob Hill. AT&T couldn't come and install the internet until Thursday. I cried about it. Fa real. When Chris told me, I said "But how am I suppose to blog?" AT&T doesn't care and couldn't give us an earlier appointment. Trust me internet, I shook my head and fist.

But besides not having internet, my life consists of: Getting up, going to work, going to the gym, going home to unpack, and going to sleep. It's been like that since Monday and I've never felt so dead in my entire life. That's until Thursday. I sat in my office with an hour to go and a headache that made me want to cry to my Mom. But I sat there feeling the need to be alive. So I went home, I picked up my camera, and I cardioed (I know thats not a word, but whatever) myself up and down and up some more of the hills surrounding our neighborhood with my camera. It was the only moment this week that I did something I truly wanted to do. Something that made me smile. It made my heart happy like a little dancing leprachaun. I finally felt alive.

Below are some of the snapshots I took of our new neighborhood.

This is one of the reasons I love our new place. Our view from the rooftop.

I love the next series.

Left: Our Lobby

Center: Grace Cathedral (Just up the block)

Right: My favorite Hotel on California St., The Mark Hopkins

And this...this is one of my favorite street photos I've ever taken. This is Chinatown.

We've still got a lot of unpacking to do, but once it's all done I'll post photos of our new place. We have these big bay windows in our bedroom and living room that pours in the most amazing light.

But until then, I promise I will blog more. I look forward to March because it's my birthday month, engagement sessions, and a special shoot next Sunday. Then April begins my wedding season for this year! So much to look forward to!

Happy Saturday!

The Style Lab!

It rained. A lot. But this didn't stop us from heading outside and shooting. That's until the 90 MPH winds, tornado warnings, and a whole lotta side ways rain decided to show up. But because it's the OC, the beautiful sun decided to grace us with it's presence after all, and that is when we rocked it out some more.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Chenin Boutwell's Style Lab. Along with the Wedding Chicks, and Totally Rad Actions, Chenin hosted her first workshop in 2 years. Rain or shine, Chenin, Jocey, Amy, and Doug shared their knowledge. And because these are some of the top professionals in the wedding industry, us attendees soaked it all up. All up until the last drop. I learned everything from how to figure out my style, what photos I want to achieve, my brand, how to shoot details, how to get published, post processing, and how to bring pretty back. That's right, how to bring pretty back.

What I love about workshops is being able to see and learn from others. Whether it be Chenin, or the Wedding Chicks, Doug or other attendees. Information was shared that helped me find what it is that I want to achieve. Defining my style, figuring out my brand, etc. We as attendees were encouraged to be our best. To be the best photographer to others, to our clients, and to ourselves. And that to me, is truly important.

Chenin, Jocey, Amy, and Doug: Thank you for a fabulous workshop! I am so lucky to have won that giveaway. I walked away with so much information. More information that I could have ever asked for. I highly recommend it to everyone, rain or shine! You guys are awesome! xo

And to the wonderful and incredibly talented vendors: Thank you for an amazing set up! It was incredible, even in the rain :)

And here are the photos...

"My Love" Amanda Rae and her hubby Mike. You guys are wonderful! So glad I got to know both of you. You both are such sweet people. Thanks for being fabulous models.

Founders Of Style Lab

Boutwell Studios

The Wedding Chicks

Totally Rad Actions

Vendors Involved With Style Lab

Venue: Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club

Styled By: Angel Swanson of Events of Love & Spendor

Stationary: Wiley Valentine

Floral Design: The Treasured Petal

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Dress Designer: Joan Shum

Makeup & Hair: All Made Up Team

Deserts & Goodies: Vanilla Bakeshop