Engagement at Santa Monica Pier: Emily&Mike

We first met Emily and Mike at the Colago's wedding in December of last year and ended up meeting with them the next day to talk about THEIR wedding this April! Poor Emily was sick as can be from food poisoning, but still mustered up the energy to put on a smile! After all of three minutes, Erin and I could barely contain our excitement about shooting their wedding :)

In hearing Emily and Mike's story about how he proposed, we knew that we had to revisit where he popped the question for their engagement session! After much nervous anticipation, and some SOS prayers, we were blessed with amazing weather at the Santa Monica Pier! We had just an absolute blast hanging out with them all afternoon and into the chilly evening! Despite Mike's claims that he's not a fan of the camera, all we had to do was put Em in his arms and he was all smiles! 

Speaking of which, here are just a handful of moments that made us smile. Enjoy :)

Erin & Mike Colago: The Slideshow!

Right before the new year, Erin *my Erin* and I shot Erin and Mike's wedding in Simi Valley and had blogged a few of our favorite shots from the day! Well in conjunction with us giving them their pictures, we wanted to share with you a brief slideshow of what was a fabulous and intimate candle-lit ceremony, followed by a rockin' reception. :)

Once again, Erin and I are blown away by how fantastic the Jackson and Colago families have been both before, during, and after the wedding. Working with them has been such a joy and we look forward to keeping in touch with them and seeing them all very soon!!

Erin and Mike spent their honeymoon hitting the fresh powder up in the mountains here in California and are now back in Chicago where the snow just keeps on coming! Congratulations again Erin and Mike! Enjoy!

CLICK HERE!

Anna & Lönngren: Tied The Knot

This past weekend I was invited to shoot with our friend, the ever-talented Henry Chen, out in Camarillo at the Spanish Hills Country Club for Anna and Lonngren's wedding. With the help of Heidi Ryder, we all had a great time shooting this truly special couple and their family.

Both Anna and Lonngren decided to wait and see each other until the ceremony, so I was able to meet and photograph them each separately and capture their last moments alone before pledging their lives and hearts to one another. It was quite the intricate dance, trying not to let them see one another, but the moment their eyes met when she entered the ceremony was a point in time I wish I could just hit "pause" and relive a hundred times over! 

Throughout the course of the day, I had the opportunity to get to know both Anna and Lonngren separately as well as together. And to know these two together is to see love in its truest form. Congratulations to you both! May the years of your marriage be filled with endless blessings and may your love be forever patient, kind, and selfless.

Here are a few moments where I hope I hit that "pause" button at the right time :)

--Beautiful Florals by: Fiore Designs--   --MC and DJ by: Bill Lovelace--  --A Delicious Cake by: Jamaica Cakes--

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Holy wow, this last month really flew by! (I think we spent all of 5 days at our respective homes, haha.)

From Hawaii to Napa to Palm Desert and everywhere in between, Erin and I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing end to this year. We could not be more thankful for the new friendships we have made and all of the things we've learned this year. But most importantly, we are grateful for our families and friends who support us at every stage. We wouldn't have wanted to spend our holidays with anyone else! Here are a handful of pictures from these past two weeks. 

Happy 2009 everyone!